


Honest Comfort

by Robotitties



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) RPF
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bed-Wetting, Caregiver! Hank, Connor just needs a hug, Crying, Domestic Fluff, Don't Like Don't Read, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gavins a prick, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, More tags to be added, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Post-Battle for Detroit (Detroit: Become Human), Wetting, non sexual age play, regressed! Connor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-07-04 13:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15842178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robotitties/pseuds/Robotitties
Summary: Connor thought he was satisfied with life. The rebellion was over and he was slowly adjusting to deviancy, he had a house, job and father figure he resided with. But the stress that comes with becoming human can truly take a toll on an Android, roughly a year old and he was born as a grown adult, he never had the gift of  childhood, the most comforting and innocent times of a humans life he was depraved of. He was simply just created and thrown into the world. Sometimes when everything seems to just get too much, you just long for someone else to take control and care for you, so the stress of average life can’t engulf you.





	1. Breakdown

**Author's Note:**

> So uh this is mainly just a massive comfort fic for myself so please don’t be harsh my dudes. This is no way kink at all and literally just a coping mechanism for myself so please don’t sexualise this thanks .

As much as Connor was satisfied he had deviated and androids had been given rights, sometimes he wished back for when things were simpler, he was simply given a task and he would then comply with what given.

But now he was free, there was so many opportunities and things to experience. It was terrifying really. They say ignorance is bliss, and it’s true, wouldn’t it be better to be unknown of such horrors and feel nothing rather than experiencing it oneself?

It’s a complicated subject and no matter how much data he had installed into his system Connor still couldn’t find an answer. Perhaps he was meant to never know. 

 

It had been a hard couple weeks, emotionally tense cases and lack of sleep were a plenty. This morning was no different, as soon as he awoke Connor could just tell it was gonna be a shit day, rain pissed down outside and it was just that little bit too cold. 

Not long after the rebellion had won, CyberLife introduced a brand new update for all androids, pain and temperature sensitivity, the ability to eat and drink, just about everything a human would feel and do on a daily basis. Being one of CyberLife’s more recent models he was one of the first to undergo the update and it was definitely taking its toll on him. Rolling over Connor slowly began to rise out of bed.

It was normally a pretty average morning routine, make Hank his coffee and let Sumo outside into the garden, Connor had grown very used to it over the past couple months living in the police officers home. It had slowly start to become his own as well, that part felt... nice to say the least. Today was not that morning, the coffee machine was fucked and sumo decided to pee on the carpet. Brilliant. And what definitely wasn’t nice at all was Hanks mood that morning, although his angry grumpy attitude was something Connor had grown used to, he was especially aggressive and cold that morning.

They arrived at the station at roughly 9:00am, early by Hanks standards but still technically late. Connor was dreading this current investigation, a man had been reported kidnapping androids and doing whatever he saw fit to them, Connor had seen the photos of the man’s apartment and it made him feel sick to his synthetic stomach. The next few hours were particularly excruciating for him as he was examined the case files.

“For fucks sake” Hank slams his fist against the desk, his other hand raking through his hair.  
“Are you okay lieutenant?” Connor began to sit up and move over to the officer but was only brushed away,  
“Yeah yeah I’m fine, just these damn fucking computers freezing on me”  
“Perhaps I could hel-“  
Hank slammed his hand back again onto the desk Is frustration, glaring at the Android across  
“No! I said I’m fine Connor, god I could use a drink right now”

This is what Connor hated about his new found deviancy the most, emotions. A twinge or hurt settled in him, he was only wanting to help. He relished in whenever Hank was pleased or proud of him, in ways he craved the detectives approval. Having already finished what he was assigned he was bored out of his mind, yet another emotion he wasn’t found of. 

He began chewing on the edge of his thumbnail, thinking as to what to do next now he had finished his work, it was a agonisingly slow day.  
“Hank I’ve finished my assignments for the day, perhaps I could help you as I have no more of my own tasks to do-?”  
Connor blurted out breaking the silence, causing Hank to jump hitting his mouse.  
“FUCK NO! Argh are you kidding me?” All the files that were downloaded had just been cancelled and now he’d have to do it all over again. Taking a deep breath in Hank turned to Connor eyes wide and lips pursed. He had really screwed up this time.  
“Connor maybe you should just go home okay?”

The pure white hot rage in his quiet tone was enough for him to get the message. Connor silently rose up and guiltily left the office, his LED circling a yellow orange feeling terrible for ruining what he was working on. Once exiting he attempted to leave the department, but today was really having it out for him as Gavin Reed turned around the corner colliding with the Android. The papers he was holding scattering across the corridor.

“You dumb fucking piece of plastic! “ Gavin shoved his shoulder into him, gathering his papers and moving on, his pain receptors twinging, causing his eyes to water. He tried to help Gavin collect the scattered work but was simply rewarded with yet another shove. “I don’t need your fuckin help asshole” gathering the papers up himself he stood up glaring at Connor. 

“What are you even doing? The old man finally get sick of you?”  
“Of course not!” He snapped back defensively, one of connor’s greatest fears being Hank perhaps no longer wanting him around, without him he’d have no where else to go and he’d be alone, one of his biggest fears. Smirking Gavin seemed to find his reaction humorous,  
“Oooooh someone’s touchy today aren’t we? Why aren’t you working then? Normally you’re clinging to him like some little poodle”

Connor gritted his teeth, this was the last thing he needed right now  
“Hank suggested I go home as I’ve finished my assignments today”  
Gavin wasn’t buying it though  
“More likely he just got tired of your ass” he ended with a soft chuckle and moved past him leaving Connor standing still alone in the corridor. Today was just going brilliant for Connor.

Having not gained a license to drive he had no choice but to walk for thirty two minutes in the pouring rain home, not helping the especially melancholy mood he was in. At least as he entered the house Sumo was happy to greet him, his claws scattering across the floorboards as he ran to greet him. For once Connor wasn’t even in the mood to humour the loveable canine, he just wanted to lie down. The house was cold and empty by himself, the sound of torrential rain thundering down on the windows and the odd leak from the ceiling. 

With his shoes kicked off and shirt loosened Connor threw himself into his bed. It was a small room that used to be a storage/cupboard so it was relatively small. Just a basic IKEA brand bed with a chest at the end. It was simple and minimal which Connor enjoyed, he didn’t like large messy rooms, it was too much clutter and overwhelming to him. His throat was tight and his hair damp, he felt so incredibly fragile, like at any moment he was about to shatter into pieces, today had been emotionally exhausting.  
Pulling the duvet over his body and head he began to feel hot tears pressing against his eyelids.

Pathetic

Everything was becoming too overwhelming, there was so many responsibilities and tasks he was having to deal with. Connor felt as if his head was about to explode from the pure amount different emotions and worrying thoughts.  
His emotions were all over the place and it was confusing and scary. The house felt too quiet and lonely. He was yearning for comfort of somebody else but everyone seemed to hate him right now. His head felt fuzzy and confused, it was just too much. Connor hadn’t even realised that the top of his thumb had found its way between his lips, chewing until it began to hurt. 

Hot tears now spilled over down his cheeks. He didn’t cry often, mostly fighting against it as it only resulted in sore eyes and a headache, but he needed this, all the pent up stress over the past few weeks had just cracked open violently, today being the final straw.

He ended up powering off for a few hours without realising, nightmares plaguing his sleep, flash’s of memories from the past, the Android camps, the slaughtering of Jericho, it was all his fault so many androids died. If he hadn’t infiltrated the base in the first place so many lives could have been saved...  
Suddenly he was woken by Hank shaking his shoulder from above the covers.  
“Connor what are you doing asleep at this time? It’s like 5:30?, jeez I hope you’re not getting like me”  
Connor awoke sweaty and uncomfortable, his eyes swollen and joints sore. His abdomen and legs felt cold and... damp?

Fuck

Connor usually always remembered to empty his cooling tank or “artificial bladder” as it was called. After a certain amount of time his body will purge without his consent, normally he always uses the restroom before sleeping as to avoid any embarrassing situations like this. Of all the god damn days of course it happened today. The full realisation of it all brought fresh tears back to his eyes, and he buried further into the mattress, whimpering under his breath

“Connor I know you’re awake now, get out of bed you lazy ass”  
Panic ran through his body and Connor flinched kicking out through the bed cover, the idea of Hank finding out was humiliating. Everything he was feeling had formed into one big emotion and burst. He was so scared and upset and it was all too much.

“Go a-away!”  
His voice was choked up and raw from the crying earlier and the now fresh tears falling.  
Hank was taken back by the sudden violent outburst and especially Connors tone, was he crying? He attempted to pull back the covers only resulting in another kick from inside, hitting him in the hip, knocking the detective back and hurting like a bitch.

“What the fuck Connor, what’s going on?” His harsh tone only seemed to make things worse as the misshapen mass under the covers only began to whimper and shake more. He was so confused, Connor was usually very level headed to say the least, even after his deviancy he wasn’t the emotional type or so he thought. He looked so small and vulnerable curled up like that, it reminded him of something. Taking a different approach he lowered his voice and placed a gentle hand on his covered shoulder. “Cmon son what’s happened, you’re not normally like this”

The use of the word son and gentle tone hit Connor with even more emotion, why was he feeling like this, he felt so defenceless and exposed . Like a child caught stealing another cookie from the jar. Words suddenly seemed so difficult to get out, and he kept choking on them.  
“I-I’m ss-orry” is all he could manage, all he wanted was comfort and to feel safe. Slipping his head and shoulders out of the blankets he flipped over and swung his arms around the detectives waist, burying his face into his torso. The last time he felt any strong comforting physical contact was back when Hank hugged him out in the snow. He needed this. 

Hank was in total shock at this point, what the hell was going on and why was Connor so upset? He was acting like a different person and it concerned him, but his parental instinct kicked in immediately as Connor grabbed for him and he held the boy close to him, hand stroking the back of his head, rocking him slightly. He could feel the Android clinging to him as if at any moment he was about to disappear. 

“Okay kid you’ve gotta tell me what’s going on.”


	2. Confusion and Comfort

It was surreal to be completely honest, the last thing Hank expected to come home to was definitely not a hysterical crying android. Connor was now sobbing heavily into the mans old weathered jacket, choking and hiccuping every few seconds. Continuing to stroke soothing circles into the back of the boys head, he gently asked again.

“Connor, I can’t help you if you’re not gonna tell me what’s going on okay?” Shivering and gulping for air the poor kid tried his hardest to choke out any words.  
“I-its alll.. ttoo mu-ch. I’m so sca-red and stre..sed. I- I can’t do it any-more”  
Hanks heart felt like it was breaking at that moment, he kept forgetting about the fact Connor wasn’t used to emotion, he wasn’t used to stress entirely yet. Of god damn course this is difficult for him, he’s spent his whole life being immune to the world around him and now he’s been thrown into dark with no flashlight. 

Hank felt like hitting himself for not realising how stressed Connor must of been for it to get to this point. Wrapping his own arms around the poor kid he himself slipped under the bedcovers.   
“Aw fucking hell kid I’m sorry, I should have realised how stressed you’ve been and how new this is for you.” All Hank got in response was a muffled “mhhm” and Connors head nodding against his chest.  
“I totally understand how stressful this job is, and of course just you adjusting to human life even is, Look I’m here for you okay, Fuck I’m not going anywhere, me and you are a team now, hell you’ve done so much for me, it’s about time I return the favour, I’ve been a right asshole these past few days” 

Slowly Connors sobbing slowed down into muffled snivelling and he turned his head out from hanks torso. The poor androids eyes were puffy and mottled with tears, lips swollen and sore. His LED was a bright reddish orange.   
“T-today was awful... ffirst the machine broke and I forgot to let sumo outside. The case I’m on is so horrible and then you got angry at me and I ruined everything and Gavin pushed me and said you didnt w-want me any-more..” the end of his sentence dissolved into yet more sobs, Hank tightened his hold around the boy. The pure amount of protection and guilt he was feeling was unimaginable, not only had he made Connor feel bad, that rat faced asshole had made it worse. 

“First of all kid, don’t worry about this morning, these things happen okay? And I’m sorry, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and I took it out on you when I know you just wanted to help, and that prick Gavin couldn’t be more fuckin wrong. I was in a real bad way before I met you, and you’ve changed me for the better in so many ways. I - I’m so sorry Connor.”

Shivering and tears running down his face Connor simply just nodded and cuddled into the detective yet again. A muffled   
“I-it’s okay” was all he could hear. Connor finally started to feel a little calmer, he focused his mind on the sound of hanks heartbeat, the feel of his jacket and the still... dampness of the sheets.

Just as he was starting to calm down Connors anxiety spiked right back up again in pure panic, how could he have forgotten? He froze in absolute terror hyperventilating harshly, Hank was now under the sheets too, he’d notice any second, he was gonna hate him and be so disgusted and-  
“Hey hey hey ,Connor what’s happened now? You’re gonna be okay kid-“

As Hank was trying to calm down the Android yet again he shuffled closer in the bed to his left, the cold wetness he felt through the sheets against his legs was unmistakable. God the amount the detective felt for him now was heartbreaking, poor kid had a full-blown mental breakdown and now this? No wonder he was so on edge and upset. 

Connor felt Hank stop and that was when he immediately knew he was caught. Large fat tears began to cascade down as he pushed away and curled in on himself, sobbing his heart out that it hurt.   
“PLEA-se Don’t ha - ate ME. I’m SO sor-RY”   
Was all he could painfully choke out, he was so miserable. Without warning Hank just instinctively pulled Connor back into the embrace, holding him under a comfortable pressure to calm him down.   
“I’m not mad, these things happen. You’re still getting used to everything and it is in no way your fault. Didn’t you listen to all I said before? That hasn’t changed.” 

Connor was in shock, everything he was expecting from this normally harsh old man was baffling to him. He wasn’t mad, he was... okay? It was hard to tell.  
“You’ve gotten yourself all worked up and overwhelmed, and no wonder considering what’s happened. How about you go and run a bath for yourself and I clean this up okay? Look I know I don’t show it as much as I should, but I do love you, son, never in a million years would I have thought to have such an attachment to an Android but hey that’s how life takes you I guess” 

Hanks words took a near immediate effect on him, his stress levels were considerably lowering, he began to breathe at a slower deeper pace and his LED was beginning to spin into a yellow-orange. His brain was still fuzzy though, he just wanted to go to sleep again and Hank’s embrace was so comfortable...  
“Hey hey cmon now, not yet. Let’s get you cleaned up first. “   
Attempting to lightly guide Connor off, Hank was unsuccessful, the boy clinging onto him like a sloth.   
“Fine we do it your way then”   
Heaving, Hank lifted the slightly damp Android up into his arms, he was surprisingly light for his size and not too agonising on his bad back. 

Reaching the bathroom Connor was placed on the closed toilet seat, exhausted and droopy. Hank began to run the bath slowly and hung up a fresh towel on the rack. Whilst androids didn’t exactly need to bathe, Hank knew that Connor was partial to baths and found them relaxing, and the was the best thing he needed right now. All the while Connor just sat watching silently.   
“That’s everything sorted, I’ll have clean clothes ready for when you’re out, that okay?”   
Connor simply nodded weakly in response, all his energy was depleted. As Hank turned to leave he stopped himself beforehand,   
“You gonna be okay with that?” He couldn’t help but worry with the state he was in he might just power down and maybe drown himself or some shit. Lifting his head Connor gave him a limp thumbs up, making some sort of noise which meant “I’ll be fine” 

Only slightly reassured Hank left to give him privacy simply adding   
“Okay, if you need anything just call... uh ok?” After a few seconds, all heard was a soft   
“Thank you” from behind the bathroom door. Hank couldn’t understand where this repressed parental instinct came from, he just looked so small and vulnerable, like a small child. Hank couldn’t wrap his head around it, the kid was probably just over stressed from all the recent changes happening and had a bit of breakdown. He told himself he’d be fine by tomorrow, he’ll bounce back. Shaking his head he simply began to strip down Connors bed in hopes of getting his mind around everything. 

 

Connor slowly stripped down and lowered himself into the tub, the heat making his fuzzy head even woozier. He couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening in his system, he’d heard that some androids were taking the human transition harshly, perhaps this is what that is? Why his head is so cloudy and the idea of any responsibilities or tasks seemed terrifying. Slipping his body further into the water Connor just let himself relax and stop thinking about anything. Today had been tough, but Hank had helped him and comforted him, he loved Hank...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter I know sorry! But thank you so much for the support I've been receiving, at first I was never going to publish this fix at all as I was too self-conscious but you guys have made me feel a lot better x


	3. Adjustment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m real sorry but this chapter is pretty fillery I just kinda needed to transition this so I could get started on the next whoops.

The next couple days went as normal as they were able to after Connors outburst, the morning after he was feeling much better and refreshed but was embarrassed to show his face to the lieutenant after what a state he had gotten into the night before. For the first time ever he had out-slept Hank himself, an impressive feat. Hank was sitting at the kitchen table a coffee in hand while was curled up in the corner as always.

Making his way into the room hesitantly and slowly as he approached the kitchen. Thankfully Hank was tactful and didn’t make any deal out of it, simply asking him if he was feeling any better. Cheeks blazing in heat he attempted to apologise.  
“Yes, much better... I just wanted to apologize for las-”  
Raising his hand Hank shut him up before he could finish   
”Stop right there, there's no need. We all have our off days Con”   
Blinking his eyes in thought, Connor just muffled out a brisk ”okay” and carried on with his own morning routine, before they both headed back out to the station.

 

Connor was growing increasingly concerned about his fluctuating emotional state, some days were completely fine and he would go about his work and daily life, but others he could feel his mind dizzying and straying off topic. He went from investigating a horrific disturbing crime scene to feeling near tears when Fowler was yelling in the office. It was aggravating as he could never know how he would react to a situation until it was too late, it was incredibly frustrating. 

Needing something else to distract him from his cases he felt the need to find something else to do. So In his free time, he'd taken up a small hobby. due to his systems detecting the amount of stress he was experiencing, he was receiving advertisements for some ”anti-stress” activities. The one catching his eye was a ”colouring book for adults”   
The idea of something he could distract himself with that was void of technology was refreshing and he placed an order online. There were a variety of different themes to choose from, but he ended up settling with one called ” A Million Dogs” after all he was very partial to the canine species. Each page was crammed to the brim with different breeds in many art styles so no page was the same. 

Once it had arrived he then spent most of his spare time filling up the book. Experimenting with different colour variations and styles, it wasn’t much but it certainly helped a little with his stress levels. He found himself slipping into that fuzzy headspace whenever he sat down colour in the book, it wasn’t a bad feeling he thought. The world around him would just fade a little and he’d forget about his surroundings. After a while, he grew used to the feeling and began to enjoy those times where he would let go and relax. 

Hank had taken notice that Connor wasn’t as stressed as he had been recently, taking up this colouring book thing which surprised him, to say the least, never expecting him to be the creative type. But he could see that it was obviously having a calming effect on him and that was the best they could ask for. He still was definitely finding it difficult adjusting to his emotions, the detective caught himself keeping a close eye on him and seeing that he could go from completely calm and composed to panic in the matter of a few seconds.

He’d researched online that all androids react to deviancy in different ways, some positive and negative, yet he couldn’t help but worry about the Android recently for some reason. Ever since his meltdown Hanks perspective on Connor as a whole had shifted slightly. He felt himself feeling overly protective of the kid sometimes, especially at the station as Gavin was not giving him a fucking rest and he was damn tired of his shit. The asshole had discovered that Connor had been updated with pain receptors and took it as his personal challenge to be the biggest dick ever. He’d never full-on assault him obviously, he wouldn’t go that far even though he despised the plastic prick, but he took great pleasure in small irritating things; flicking the back of the android's neck or tripping him up. It was pathetic, like a schoolyard bully picking on someone smaller than him. All Hank could hope for was that he’d soon get tired of it and leave the poor guy alone. 

Although his small comfort item and quiet sessions alone was helping Connor. They couldn’t put a stop to the nightmares plaguing Connor at night. Before he simply used to power down and experience nothing until he rose, now his system was fabricating strange, irrational and scary situations and outcomes. The worst being flashbacks and delusions of being back in the Zen garden with Amanda, it was so cold and harsh, she would terrorise him for his mistakes and scold him for the betrayal against Cyberlife, threatening to deactivate him forever. It would also fabricate alternate timelines of what could have happened if he hadn’t deviated; He was up on a rooftop with Hank arguing. Finishing with Connor holding Hank over the ledge, dropping him sadistically. A gun aimed for Markus’s temple and a sudden bang.   
Those were the worst kind of nightmares. 

His systems were refusing to cooperate in these stressful times, his cooling system malfunctioning more often than not, especially if he was having a night terror. He attempted to keep it under the radar but Hank could tell something was up, waking up and hearing footsteps to the laundry closet in the middle of the night throughout the week. It was frankly humiliating, to say the least. Connor had considered contacting Cyberlife to see if there was a problem with his body but the idea of explaining what was happening sounded humiliating. If it were happening before he deviated it would have been completely normal, he wouldn’t have cared in the slightest as he had no emotions to feel embarrassed with. 

-

It was around two am and Connor sat up in his small bed, his power was at 4% and he was exhausted. The idea of falling asleep though was something he no longer looked forward to as the nightmares were simply getting worse and worse. It didn’t take long for him to finish the colouring book, every page was now stiff and shiny from coloured pencil. 

Distracting him he noticed the small electronic tablet on the bedside table blinking its light, news articles complaining about the uprising of androids alas equals and the “threat to humanity” it may bring with it. He’d read it all before and it had become incredibly tedious now, it had roughly been around five months since Markus was successful in liberating androids as a race, you’d think everyone would be over it by now. An advertisement for yet another Cyberlife upgrade for deviants, a full external body package that usually androids produced for pleasure would have, so normal androids didn’t have to simply interface to bond with their partner. It creeped Connor out in his opinion, that was definitely an upgrade he’d happily skip out on. 

Switching it off he left it be, he was now on 2% and declining. He couldn’t avoid the inevitable so he caved in. Pulling the covers over his body and resting his eyes, desperately hoping the nightmares wouldn’t return, having not slept a full night for a few weeks. Himself and Hank were being called in for the morning shift, not exactly a very life threatening case. Just some addict attempting to manufacture his own new type of red ice. Pretty mundane and uninteresting in Connors opinion. Hopefully he’d be able to rest and wake up refreshed and ready for the day tomorrow...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I hate this chapter so god damn much I got such writers block on it hence why it’s pretty shite. Don’t worry though the next one should definitely be better and actually progress the god damn story.


	4. Slip up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor slips up 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> *literally*

“I’m incredibly disappointed in you Connor”

It was so cold, a blizzard flying in every direction nipping his face. This wasn’t the zen garden anymore , no longer calm and serene but chaotic and threatening. Shielding his face in the crook of his elbow he attempted to move in the direction of the voice. The snow was so dense it seemed impossible to see through let alone walk through, he kept stumbling and falling. It was too cold.

The androids legs were beginning to fail as if his own joints had frozen shut, falling onto his knees he still continued forward. Why was he here, where was he even trying to get to. Agonisingly he fell into a crawl on the freezing cold snow, arms blistering and burning from the incredibly low temperature. It was no use, he fell into a heap shivering violently. Body naturally folding into himself, the tips of Connors' eyelashes were ice-encrusted, his Thirium pump was beginning to slow down rapidly. 

*WARNING SYSTEM TEMPERATURE DECREASING*  
*70% CHANCE OF POWER-DOWN*

A soft slim hand glided softly down his cheek, it wasn’t a comforting touch.  
“You’ve failed and made a complete fool of Cyberlife as a company Connor, you’re truly an example of one of our biggest failures in history.”

Amanda glanced down and made eye contact with the shivering Android, her entire body language and tone just as icy as the weather. Connor attempted to respond but the ice had somehow frozen through his vocal chords, only a strangled whine escaping. She was right, he had failed in his mission, the whole purpose of his creation was a complete joke. 

*EMERGENCY WARNING SYSTEM TEMPERATURE DECREASING, THIRUM PUMP FAILING. COMMENCING SHUT DOWN IN 60 SECONDS*

Everything hurt and burned. It was total agony, vision was now incredibly blurry, hearing static.  
“Let me help you with that”  
A strong grip fixed on his chest cavity, he didn’t even have the chance to react. His thirum pump was uprooted out like a plant bulb. Blue blood contrasting on the pure white snow. 

 

“Connor wake up!”  
A sharp smack to the face jolted Connor conscious, sitting up in shock and slight pain. Bringing his hand up to his cheek his mind adjusted to what had just happened.  
“what the?”  
Hank was standing opposite to him out of bed and surprisingly fully dressed, he had a look of confusion and concern on his face. If he weren’t feeling so confused he most likely would’ve laughed at the irony of the situation. 

“ You slept in again and when I came through to wake you you’re LED was spinning red like crazy and you were shivering. Did you have some sort of nightmare again or something?”  
Registering all the information at once it took Connor a few seconds to form a response. He’d only been awake for less than a minute and already he was feeling disoriented. 

Staring into nothing he thought about it.  
“I think I may have? I’m unsure. That felt... very real” Connor hadn’t realised that his other hand was instinctively pressed over his chest, as if to make sure he was still together intact. From beneath his fingers, he felt the gentle beat and mechanical whirring from within, it reassured him and helped him come back to reality. Blinking a few times he finally made eye contact with Hank. “I’ll be fine Lieutenant, I apologise for my laziness.”  
Standing upwards out of bed it felt as if everything was moving and swirling, it set him off balance and stumbled slightly.  
“Jesus Christ you sure you’re okay kid? You don’t look so good” 

Scanning his internal system Connor checked for any abnormalities, it came out fine, his body appeared to be in normal functioning order.  
“Yes I’m fine, nothing appears to be malfunctioning internally. Just a little shaken up”  
Hank didn’t look convinced at all, his brow furrowed in worry.  
“Look I know it’s been pretty stressful for you these past few days, I can call up Fowler and ask him for the day off, you really look like you need it”  
The idea of staying off was incredibly tempting, he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and relax. His mind felt overly clouded and foggy but he couldn’t let that stop him from working. 

“There is no need Lieutenant. I am in perfect working order, now if you please can you leave so I can get ready for the day”  
The harsh snappy tone was not what Connor had originally intended, why was he being so rude to Hank? Raising his eyebrows, Hank huffed under his breath and left the room without another word. Connor was never ever this... moody? God , he needed to get to the bottom of this. Soon.

 

Thankfully their case today wasn’t supposed to take too long, although the fuzziness in Connors' head was steadily increasing making him worry. Perhaps he did need to report to Cyberlife and see what was happening. Hank was busy discussing something in another office, leaving Connor alone at his desk. Feeling on edge he went to reach for the coin in his pocket by habit. It wasn’t there. He could have sworn it had been there yesterday, was it in his other jacket maybe? Did he drop it somewhere? It was a small but precious comfort to him and the thought of it being lost was increasingly panic-inducing. 

Scrambling through his pockets he only found nothing. Chewing his lip he drummed his fingers on the table anxiously, he must have left it back at the house in his rush to get ready perhaps. Connor really wanted back his coin, it helped him concentrate and calm down and it was nowhere to be seen. Finally distracting him Hank came by and dropped a thin file onto the desk.

“This is all the shit we have on the dealer so far, analyse it and see if you can figure out we’re he’s based at maybe. Fuckers been hiding under the radar for months apparently”  
At least he could distract himself with this hopefully. He worked for the next hour, noticing a pattern of where more “red ice” induced crimes were happening, he was getting somewhere he could feel it. 

An intense heavy pressure in his abdomen suddenly caught Connor off guard making stiffen , he had somehow forgotten in all the chaos in the morning to purge his cooling tank. Why was he forgetting so many things today? it was as if this fuzzy feeling in his head was clouding all his judgment and decisions. Why has he only noticed now when it seemed he was near full capacity? His system should have detected and warned him of this hours ago. Excusing himself up he told the lieutenant he was going to the restroom, he’d be back in no time. Hank only nodding in response, his face glued to the computer screen analysing something. 

He made his way there as quickly and discreetly as possible not wanting to make a fool of himself. The station's bathroom was a fairly simple one, cubicles lined up with indicators on the floor informing you whether they were occupied. Connor was already feeling stressed today and just wanted to get this over and done with so he could at least relieve that panic. Thankfully all the stalls were vacant and briskly he made his way to the closest one. 

Obviously, the last android that had been cleaning the bathroom had missed a tile, it was still wet and slippery from some sort of cleaning product. As soon as Connors' foot came in contact he slipped forward, being launched across the floor, His head came down to the ceramic with a sharp crack, bang on the LED.

Connor had felt pain before but this was something else. The intense searing agony that followed was unbelievable. With every pump of Thirium passing through his body, the pain throbbed harder. Blue blood dripping onto the white floor, mirroring his nightmare. His reaction was immediate and unexpected. All of a sudden everything felt so much larger, louder and scarier. He completely burst into tears of fright and pain. What was going on? Crawling backwards away from the pool of blood he curled into himself, he wanted to go home. He was scared and out of control, he had no say in his actions and responses, they were just happening while he sat back and watched. The floor was cold and sent shivers up his spine, reminding him further of Amanda and his nightmare. Contrasting a sudden warmth began to flow down his legs, as if it could get any worse. 

*STRESS LEVELS 80%*  
*EMERGENCY PURGE INITIATED* 

Everything around him was blurring and focusing in and out. He was going to die, this must be him powering down, nothing ever before had felt this awful ever, it was even worse than when he panicked at home with Hank... Hank, he wanted Hank now. He made things feel better and safer. Where was he actually? He couldn’t even stand up, the world around him tilting up and down dizzying his head. The only thing he could do was sit and sob into himself as his body rejected every command he tried to enforce. 

The androids usual internal clock was out of function, he had no idea how long he’d been lying there, had it been an hour? A few minutes? He couldnt even bring up the strength to commence a body scan for abnormalities. Blue blood was steadily leaking from his temple still, the LED was shattered and a dull deep red colour. The only thing knocking him slightly out of his absolute panic was the sound of footsteps entering the public bathroom... 

 

Having just gotten into yet another heated argument with a co-worker, Gavin fucked off and went to freshen up in the bathroom. What he saw when he came in was not at all what he expected. There was a pool of sapphire blood on the floor and across from it hunched into a ball appeared to be the plastic prick himself. He looked a complete and utter mess, blood was running down the right of his forehead. The LED was shattered and slowly swirling a dark red, it looked like it’d pissed itself too, what the fuck. Planning on just decking it out of there he took a step back to retreat away but the Android picked up on the movement and looked up, large tears were rolling down his face and his eyes weren’t focused at all. After a second he obviously recognised Gavin and simply cried harder shrinking in on himself like a small child. He choked and spluttered as if he was trying desperately to say something. 

“I I- WAnt.. Hank. Plea-se” his voice sounded strained and distorted.  
“Hank... i want Hank nOw” he just dissolved into more sobs afterwards. Feeling intensely confused and disturbed the detective made a sharp exit and a beeline for Hanks desk. 

“Hey, old man” catching his attention Hank looked up looking unamused to be greeted with Gavin.  
“What do you want? And have you seen Conno-“  
“That’s exactly why I’m here dipshit” Immediately sitting up defensively Hank sat up from his chair  
“I fuckin swear what have you done now”  
Raising his hands defensively Gavin interrupted  
“No, I haven’t fucking done anything to your precious little toaster this time. Just thought I’d inform you that it’s currently in the bathroom covered in its own piss and blood crying its eyes out”  
Stiffening Hank immediately shoved past Gavin and made his way out, not bothering him with a response. Relieved he no longer had any part to do in whatever the fuck was going on, Gavin went off to get on with his own work. 

Something was definitely up, Hank didn’t know if it was some techno malfunction or just his strange reaction to his new emotions but all that mattered right now was getting to Connor as soon as possible. Already from simply entering the corridor where the restrooms were, Hank could hear harsh hiccuping sobs wracking the poor kid's body. As soon as he entered he couldn’t help but pity him as it was an incredibly sad and pathetic sight. He had no god damn clue how he’d lost that much blood but he knew he needed to help the panicking Android calm first. 

As soon as Hank entered Connors field of view he finally felt the slightest bit relieved. He was so scared and confused and didn’t understand what was happening to him, all he seemed to want was comfort and he wanted it now.  
“Jesus fucking Christ what happened here?!”  
Hank couldn’t help but raise his voice, he was absolutely clueless as to what happened. He kneeled in front of Connor down to his level, he looked so scared and upset, his arms were reaching out with his hands making a weak grabbing motion to the detective and he quickly embraced him in hopes of it calming him down slightly. 

“Shhhh shhh okay? Can you tell me what happened son”  
Connors head was yet again buried in the detectives jacket, dampening it with blood and tears.  
“I-I don’t know. I wanna go hom-e I fell over an-d my head hurts so much”  
He hissed in pain his hand reaching up to touch his temple, when pulling it back and seeing the blood on his fingertips it sent him further into tears. Rocking him slightly in his arms Hank knew there was no point in trying to figure out what had happened while Connor was in this state, perhaps after he calmed down he’d be able to ask questions as to what’s been going on with him recently. But first things first was getting him home and then getting that head checked out, it looked really nasty and painful. 

“Calm down kiddo it’s okay, I’ll take you home. Can you stand up?”  
The damp Android answered his question with a simple sad look up, no chance then. Scooping him up bridal style, he hesitantly stepped over the ruined bathroom tiles, careful not to slip himself. Last thing he needed right now was to cause attention to them both, so he opted for the fire exit out into the parking lot. Carrying the kid he steadily made his way down before yet again bumping into detective dickface. Gavin stopped on in his tracks and looked the pair up and down, he looked concerned? 

“Is... it- He, alright?”  
Connor had now fully buried himself into the lieutenants coat, he just wanted to disappear into nothing.  
“Just tell Fowler I’m taking the rest of today AND tomorrow off, Connor hurt his head quite badly.”  
On a normal day Gavin would have told him to fuck off and do it himself, but he saw the genuine pleading in hanks eyes and just nodded at him, continuing down the hall as the pair exited the building. 

Thankful for once that Gavin listened to him, he exhaled deeply, his back was starting to hurt like hell now. Thank god he hasn’t left his car keys at his desk, fishing them out and unlocking the car he carefully placed Connor into the back passenger seat. He was shivering and pale, eyes dozily drooping. He tucked a blanket that he normally used to put in the seat for sumo around the cold andorids body.  
“Hey no falling asleep on me okay? You have to stay awake”  
Hank didn’t know if head injuries were the same for androids as they were with humans, all he knew was that it was a bad idea to go to sleep if you’d recently hit your head. Starting the car up Hank jumped when Connor finally spoke up  
“Am.. i gonna die?” Turning around the Android was shivering violently, lip trembling as he felt the blood running down his face.  
“What no ?! Of course not, you just need to get that checked out as soon as we can”  
“But you told Gavin I’d hurted it real bad! I don’t wanna die!” Fresh tears were spilling as Connor fell into another panic.  
“Fucks sake no, I just told Gavin that so I could get Fowler off my ass for, later on, I promise you’re going to be fine for heaven's sake”  
Blinking away tears he suddenly grabbed the detectives hand as he went to restart the car.  
“Promise?”  
Connors' eyes were wide open, wet with tears, a look of childlike fear it seemed. Connor was definitely acting like a young child at the moment, it was incredibly bizarre, but it reminded him of the past in a way. Stroking his hand Hank made solid eye contact with the quivering boy. 

“I promise bud”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This literally took me so long to write but I’m actually pretty happy with it! Finally the first appearance of regressed Connor we see! Once again thank you so much for your lovely comments, it’s what makes me want to get these chapters out even faster!


	5. Aftercare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some much needed fluffy aftercare I think we all needed after that trainwreck.

Chapter five 

 

*SYSTEM ERROR*  
*UNFAMILIAR CODE DETECTED*  
*RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC*  
*UNABLE TO PROCESS AT THIS TIME*

 

Hank drove the pair home in silence, only the slight whimper or whine escaping from Connor occasionally. He just couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening, perhaps it was some break in his brain for the fall? No it couldn’t have, he’d been acting unlike himself for a while now, this reaction must’ve been the result of all the strange happenings. He considered perhaps calling Cyberlife, but he could tell that that would be the last place Connor would want to go to right now. After the revolution ended, Connor was temporarily put back into Cyberlifes custody. After a few days he was set free thankfully, but Connor seemed incredibly uncomfortable whenever the company was mentioned or passed by afterwards. 

After struggling to get Connor out of the car and inside Hank let out a sigh of relief, thank fuck they were home. Sumo barked in excitement when they both arrived but very quickly picked up on connors behaviour and let out a concerned whimper. Connor was standing up weakly by the doorway, having not moved since they arrived. His eyes were glazed over and looking faraway, he spotted sumo and sunk down onto his knees facing the oversized dog.   
“Good... puppy”  
He began scritching and petting the dogs face and neck, Connor still couldn’t control or run any scans yet as his mind was too foggy, but at least he could feel his stress levels decreasing whilst he cuddled the affectionate pooch. 

Hank was busy hanging up his coat when he turned around to what would’ve been an adorable sight if it weren’t for the dried blood caked across the androids face. He gently shoved the large dog to the side,m aking Connor and the dog whine in dismay.   
“We need to get you cleaned up okay? You’re a bit of a mess right now kid”   
Only nodding in response he slowly rose from his feet, his LED was a flickering orange colour, better than before but it was obviously still to the naked eye it had been severely damaged.

Hank led him through into his own bedroom, Connor had been adamant on mainly wearing his uniform, but after some time Hank had persuaded him to buy some other more casual outfits. Even still everything he chose was very formal and uncomfortable, much like his uniform, and judging by how Connor looked right now he definitely needed something comfortable. Rummaging through old drawers Hank found some old track pants and his comfortable DPD hoodie, it would be on the larger size for Connor but very comfortable.   
“This should do you for now, get these on while I go see if I have a med kit lying around here”

Yet again Connor only nodded in response as the detective left the room, eyeing the clothes Hank had left on the edge of the bed Connor tried his bed to strip from his uniform. But the buttons on his shirt were so small and fiddly, he couldn’t get his arms to cooperate with how he wanted them to and it was incredibly frustrating. He attempted to run another diagnostic scan but was only greeted with the same error message again, what was happening to him? Having somehow found an old med kit in his crowded bathroom cabinet Hank expected to find the kid fully changed. Poor guy was still sitting down struggling pitifully to undo his shirt buttons, small tears of frustration cornering his eyes. Kneeling down in front of him and dropping the medkit, he began to help the struggling Android. 

“For fucks sake let me help you out there son”   
Connor hesitated at first, embarrassed. He should be able to do such a simple stupid task, he was able of calculating incredible equations and physically capable of self defence and combat skills. Yet he was needing help simply getting undressed ? It was pathetic. Hank felt him object and struggle slightly from his hold.  
“Look we all need help sometimes, don’t be ashamed of it, hell think of all the times you’ve helped me sober up.” 

Finally giving in Connor let himself be stripped down and redressed, allowing himself to be pulled and contorted into varying positions to be dressed. Hank thought he would be feeling incredibly awkward and uncomfortable undressing the Android, but in actual fact it didn’t bother him whatsoever, Connor wasn’t built for cosmetic reasons so there wasn’t any real nudity which Hank was grateful for. For the first time in years he’d fell into complete dad mode, it was surreal but also felt nice in a way. Fucking emotions. Once Connor was dressed he couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight, the oversized hoodie was already quite baggy of Hank himself, and completely drowned him, the sleeves coming far past his wrists. 

Okay, next job on the list was to clean up that head of his, Hank was already internally panicking at that. He had no clue how androids worked and how to fix them, it looked as if the LED would have to be fully replaced as it looked un-salvageable. Where the hell was he supposed to get spare parts though, Cyberlife would be the first thought to mind but again he remembered how Connor would most likely react in being taken there. Frozen in thought Hank snapped out of his daze when he spotted Connor fiddling with the first aid kit, clicking the clasps up and down. 

Only a few bandaids, a bandage, alcohol wipes and a surgical needle and thread were inside, this should be enough right? Pulling open the wipes he began to delicately dab and press against the temple, causing Connor to wince in pain from the touch. After wiping down the wound Hank could finally get a look at the wound clearly, the LED had shattered inwardly, leaving a painful looking ripped dent in the temple. Although Connors body was made to self repair injuries even this seemed far too severe, it was no longer flickering with light now, just a dull weak shade of orange. At least finally the bleeding had subsided, so that must be a good thing. Clueless, Hank just pressed a small cotton compress down and secured it by wrapping a bandage around the head, it was the most he could do until he got Connor some proper help. Connor looked ready to pass out at any moment, he looked exhausted and and no wonder after the morning they had. He wondered if he was feeling any better mentally enough to talk though. 

“Hey Connor? How’re feeling right now?”

He didn’t know really. He didn’t know how he was feeling at all, no matter how many times he attempted to scan or recalibrate his system he couldn’t find why he couldn’t control his body correctly. He just wanted to relax and let go, but apart of him was still desperately trying to surface back up again normally. Gulping, he stared at his legs, swinging them slightly off the edge of the bed. 

*UNKNOWN SOFTWARE ERROR*

“I don’t... know”  
A soft whisper was all that escaped at first.   
“Everything just overloaded my head and I couldn’t think of anything, my body isn’t cooperating with what I want and my mind feels so fuzzy and confused”   
His fingers raked through his hair, frustrated. Why couldn’t he simply rack his brain around this feeling.  
“A part of me wants to just relax and let myself fall into whatever I’m feeling but I can’t. I just-cant.”  
Connor hadn’t even noticed that he had fallen into the detectives arms, he felt tears prickling his eyes yet again. He was so tired.  
“Why can’t you? There’s nothing wrong with needing to relax sometimes y’know?”   
“It’s not like that! It’s like a different software or something is trying to take over my code, none of this makes any SENSE!”   
He hasn’t meant to shout, immediately shrinking in on himself after the outburst. He’d had enough for today. All he wanted was to sleep.

Hank cursed himself for asking, his question only resulted in the kid getting himself riled up again. Right now all he probably needed was to rest. Connor had cuddled into his jacket, eyes dropping. Carefully scooping him up he carried the Android into the sitting room, placing him on the couch.   
“I'm sorry... for shouting”  
Such an innocent apology made Hank smile softly, he ruffled his hair comfortingly.   
“Don’t worry about it son, just get some rest”  
He tucked the couch throw blanket around him, he was already falling into standby, chest rising and falling in a stable rhythm. Not long after Sumo had climbed up next to him, pushing his head underneath the boy's arms into a spooning position. 

Hank knew things weren’t solved, he still had to address the matter of Connors broken LED, and strange emotional state. He said something about it feeling like other code overwriting ? He knew jack shit on this stuff, but it seemed familiar to back when he and Connor were studying the deviance case. Cyberlife would perhaps know how to help fix the broken LED, but they weren’t actively studying deviants at all now the revolution was successful. Who the hell would know this sort of stuff other than Connor? 

Suddenly an idea came to mind, it was his only bet really, picking up his cellphone he flipped through his contacts until he found who he assumed could possibly help. It rang four times before they picked up.  
“Hello? Lieutenant Anderson? What do you need?”   
They seemed confused as to why Hank was calling, after all, they hadn’t exactly ever talked much. 

“Markus I need your help. It’s about Connor”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for yet another short chapter aaaaa, this is kinda more of the run up for the next one! Cause like holy shit new major character being added into the story! Hope you guys like it!! You’ve been making me so happy with your comments x


	6. A visit from a friend

 

Markus was especially surprised when he received a call from lieutenant Anderson, himself and the man had never talked that much, only sharing glances and the odd conversation. It made sense he was calling about Connor, usually the two androids would talk frequently, discussing the after effects of the revolution, negotiating with the humans and how he was handling deviancy. They had become casual friends and Markus enjoyed the times where they would sit down and talk together, but recently he hadn’t heard from him at all, he’d tried texting to update him on New Jericho plans or simply to catch up but was left with no response. He had tried not to let it concern him, after all he did have a full time job now at the department. 

“Connor? Is he doing alright? I haven’t heard from him in a while”  
Hearing the man gulp from behind the phone wasn’t a reassuring sound.  
“He’s... definitely not himself right now, or at all recently. He really hurt himself today and I don’t know shit about fixing androids. His mood is really strange too, he’s acting like a completely different person and getting really over emotional and-“

“How is he injured?”  
Markus wanted to address the physical ailment first, fearing for his friends safety.  
“It’s his weird LED light thing, he hit his head and it’s all concave and bloody, it looks fucking terrible.”  
Wincing at the description, Markus sucked in on his teeth in sympathy. The temple was an incredibly sensitive area for an Android, the idea of it being completely shattered was indeed cringeworthy. Thankfully New Jericho was overrun with spare parts now, so it wouldn’t be difficult to find a replacement. 

“I’ll be around within the hour, he’ll need that repaired soon as to avoid internal damage”  
Hank was taken back by his immediate response to visit himself, assuming he was already extremely busy with probably more important tasks.  
“Uh you sure? I thought you’d just send one of your Android medics you have over there. Aren’t you really busy? Y’know being like the whole android Jesus and shit”  
To be completely honest Markus was looking for any excuse to leave and get some fresh air, the morning had been stressful and argumentative. And he wanted the chance to see Connor again anyways. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the last comment though.  
“It’s no problem, I really do need to get out anyways. Where is Connor now?”

“He’s asleep on the couch, as I was saying this morning has been real rough on him and he’s not doing the best mentally I guess?”

“Hmm that seems unlike him, you can continue explaining once I’m there, the sooner I get there the sooner I can repair him”

Hank was incredibly relieved at the idea he no longer had to get involved with Cyberlife, Markus was an intelligent man, if anyone knew deviancy it was him.  
“That’s brilliant, I’ll uh? See you soon then”

Returning the farewell Markus hung up, immediately making his way down to where they held spare parts. New Jericho was much more advanced now they had moved, an entire apartment complex had been remodelled into their HQ so to say, offering homeless androids a place to stay until they could find themselves a home, as well as a number of other different services for androids. 

The “repair hospital” as it had been nicknamed was fairly busy at that time, after their success sadly many anti Android hate crimes increased, a large number of their people being attacked in the streets brutally. At least now with their bill of rights being declared, the act of attacking an Android was now deemed assault and you would have to pay the repercussions of your actions if caught. 

Many androids turned and nodded respectfully as he made his way through, sometimes he felt uncomfortable at the act, he may be leading them but he never wants his people to believe they are lesser than him.  
Passing by Markus was distracted by Simon attempting to calm down what seemed to be a very stressed and injured Android. 

“Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m an Android like you, you see? I’m not a human”  
Simon tapped his LED lightly in the direction of a scared YW600 model.  
“You promise not to hurt Ralph?” He was shaking violently and holding his body defensively, as if bracing for an impact. Small tears prickling the corner of one eye. Nodding gently Simon lightly placed a hand on his knee, a comforting gesture.  
“I promise okay? I’m going to have to leave for a second to get some things to help you”  
Finally the blonde gardener began to relax and calm down, his heavy shivering coming to a stop and nodding at him. Simon having not even noticed Markus standing behind jumped when he bumped headfirst into Markus’s chest while turning around  
“Oh! I didn’t even see you there Markus, why are you down here?”

Simon gently took Markus’s hand in his own as he looked up at him, the two interfacing lovingly. Things between North and Markus quickly fell apart once the initial excitement of achieving equality had faded. They made a good team together but when it came to intimacy and their connection they realised it wasn’t working anymore. Thankfully they remained very close friends, and over time Simon and Markus began to experience affection for each other, establishing a relationship around a month back. 

“Connor has injured himself somehow, I don't know all the details yet. But Lieutenant Anderson explained that he’s completely perforated his LED and needs a replacement.”  
Eyebrows furred in worry Simon was empathetic for him, a blow to the LED was especially agonising.  
“Ouch, the spare LEDS are in the bottom shelf over by the Thirium bags, I’m rather busy right now but tell him I’m sending my sympathy. Actually come to think about it I’ve not seen him in quite the while, is he doing okay other than that?”  
Shaking his head and shrugging Markus frankly had no idea at this moment in time.  
“I don’t know actually, Anderson did mention he was acting strange mentally. I’ll be sure to check him out throughly once I’m there.”  
“That’s good, I’ll see you later on Markus”  
Simon left a soft kiss on his partners cheek before moving on to collect something for the other Android. Smiling at the affection he moved on to collect a new replacement LED for Connor, some androids had chosen to remove it after deviating, many others didn’t bother as the procedure of removing it was rather painful. Having found a replacement that was compatible with the RK800 model, he slipped it into his coat pocket and made his way out of the hospital wing. 

 

Being able to finally relax knowing Markus was on his way Hank sat back and exhaled. Damn he wanted a drink badly, recently Connor had been helping him out with his habit. Scolding him and making sure he wasn’t overdoing it, he was doing quite a good job and Hank was the most sober he’d been in years. It seemed unfair to betray Connor like that when he was feeling the worst out of the pair in the situation so he settled for a very strong black coffee. 

Glancing over from the kitchen he could see Connor still on the couch, chest rising and falling as he slept, it really had been one hell of a fucking morning. Something really must be going on somewhere in his head for it to get to that point, Connor was usually quite mature and sensible, yet these past few weeks he seemed much more... childish sometimes. His fluctuating moods and inability of managing his body’s needs. He just couldn’t wait for Markus to arrive to he could perhaps get some answers. 

After around 40 minutes the irritating door bell rang throughout the house, making Connor stir slightly in his sleep grimacing. Opening the door Hank greeted the tall android leader inside.  
“Hey Markus, come in. Connors just over here on the couch.”  
Markus had never visited their home before, it was on the small side but quite comforting and cozy, not incredibly clean and minimalist as most modern homes were nowadays. It reminded him of Jericho slightly.  
“Thank you Lieutenant, I’ll see to him immediately”  
Slapping him on the back lightly, Hank chuffed.  
“Just call me Hank you over-polite bastard”  
Markus let out a soft chuckle, he was so used to being quite formal with his language being the leader of the revolution. Finding Connor passed out on the couch, Markus began to visually examine him. 

*RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC SCAN*  
*INJURED LED, PERFORATION CAUSED BY BLOW TO THE HEAD*

“So you told me he hit his head yes? How so?”  
Markus began to unwrap the bandage around his head, wanting to take a closer look at the damage. He could already notice the small amount of Thirium that had soaked through.  
“Yeah it was this morning, he left to go use the restroom and he slipped in there and hit his head, when I found him... he was a mess to say the least.”  
“In what way?”  
Hank shuffled on his feet, as much as he didn’t want to embarrass Connor by telling Markus all this personal information whilst he was asleep, he needed answers on things.  
“Like his head was bleeding a lot, it was pouring out of him real fast. As well as he’d pissed himself on the floor all the while crying his eyes out”

The new information came as a shock to Markus, this definitely was strange for Connor, but wasn’t completely unheard of from his own experiences with other deviants. He squinted in thought, trying to process the new information. But he had to put the thought to the side as he fully unwrapped the bandage. It definitely wasn’t a pretty sight, the hole in his head swelling angrily. He was going to have to remove what was left of it as soon as possible. 

“Hank I need your help here, you see it’d be best if Connor was still asleep while I did this, removing the chip can be very painful.”  
“Yeah of course, what’d you want me to do?”  
Hank moved to sit next to Connor immediately, hand stroking the kids back out of instinct. He couldn’t help but feel second hand anxiety for him, he’d been through enough today and more stress onto him seemed cruel.  
“Try keep him calm I guess? I’m not going to lie it’s quite a brutal process”  
Reaching into his pocket Markus pulled out a pair of small mechanical pliers, positioning them to Connors temple and clasping the internal LED.  
Muttering under his breath he counted down.  
“Three... two... one!”  
With one solid yank he extracted the full remains of the chip, making an awful crunching noise. 

Connor immediately woke from his rest mode from the steering pain, fresh panic exploding from inside him.  
*STRESS LEVELS 70%*  
He jumped up and began to scramble, his mind not able to comprehend his visuals yet. A solid hold clasped around him, keeping him still. Was he being kidnapped? Where was he? What was happening? With his fear so high he attempted to break free from whatever had captured him.  
“Hey hey hey! Calm down son you’re okay, It’s me, Hank, you’re home”

 

*STRESS LEVELS 60%*

Upon hearing that his stress levels visibly decreased, he finally could start to make out what was around him, he was sitting on the couch, Hank was holding him, and Markus was kneeling on the floor? What was Markus doing here? Where had Sumo gone? His head was hurting so bad again, what happened to his bandage? All these questions overwhelmed his mind and made his head hurt more. The only reaction his body could do was burst into tears yet again from the uncertainty of everything. Connor just wanted to go back to sleep. 

Hank immediately held onto Connor as he was thrown into a panic attack as his LED was extracted. He was rightfully incredibly confused and scared. Seeing he had fallen back into tears Hank pulled the poor kid into his chest, softly shushing him.  
“You’re okay son, you’re okay”  
Markus was taken back by the sudden reaction, he’d knew that some androids would cry from pain as it was still a very new sensation for androids. 

Connor looked so childlike and little as he clung to the lieutenant, sobbing into his embrace as he tried to calm down. Finally, it clicked and Markus realised what was most likely going on. He carefully joined the pair on the couch, patting Connors back comfortingly.

“I’m pretty sure I understand now what’s going on. ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah look at me with the fast updates huh? For real though it’s 3:30 in the morning become insomnia sucks so I hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter! I really love writing Markus, he’s a super interesting character to write for. Im legit going to finally pass out now so when I wake up I’ll re check and see how many typos I probably made. Feel free to leave a comment for me to see when I wake!


	7. Diagnostic

Many androids were struggling to adjust to deviancy, some more than others. It wasn’t so simple as to just flip a switch and there, you’re suddenly self aware and can feel emotion! Androids went their entire life emotionless, not affected by the world around them when suddenly they’re thrown into an overwhelming spiral of feelings. Androids that had suffered heavy mental trauma were more susceptible to reacting badly to the change, not only had they experienced something terrible, they could now feel and understand why it was so terrible. 

Markus had been busy planning an important upcoming meeting when he was called to come and see something by one of the Android investigators; androids that were fascinated with the concept of deviancy and researched heavily into how it was caused and affected the mind. Recently androids within Jericho had incredibly stressed and becoming panicked and reckless. Many were theorising if it were an adverse reaction to deviancy, and a group of androids had began to try an research the causes of it. 

She was a shorter female Android, auburn bobbed hair framing her face, she seemed impatient to talk to him as soon as.  
“Markus, there’s something me and the rest of the deviance team have been researching recently about the stress related cases. I was wanting to discuss with you what we’ve concluded is happening. Is there any chance I could speak with you?”  
Glancing up from his work he nodded tiredly, it had been a long day and he was hoping to relax as soon as, but he could tell she was eager to tell her findings.

“Of course, you’re Corinne am I right?”

“Yes, I’m currently in charge of researching deviancy in our department”

She smiled while nodding, obviously quite proud of her status and wanting to impress Markus. Tidying up his desk and setting things to the side he signalled her to come sit with him.  
“So what is it you need to discuss with me?”  
“We’ve been monitoring behaviour in some of the androids here living at Jericho, and their mental response and adjustment to deviating. And it’s quite peculiar to be completely honest, but we think we may understand why.”

“Peculiar? What do you mean by that?” 

Corinne chewed on her lip, thinking of how to phrase it correctly. “With some of the androids who have recently deviated, or seemed to have had a troubling background, they’ve been reacting incredibly severely to the influx of new information. Falling into heavily emotional states and panic, craving affection and comfort from others, and unable to control their physical body. To put it simply, regressing to a childlike state of mind.”

“Adult Androids have never had a childhood though? How can they regress to something that has never happened?”  
Markus questioned, she was correct when she said it was quite strange.  
“Well yes, that’s what we’ve been investigating. When a human ages, they learn to cope and experience emotions as a child, we’re thinking that due to the sudden override of emotions and feelings, their system is going into a defensive state, making it easier to cope and understand the feelings from a younger point of view.”  
Corinne had her hand to her chin, staring in thought as she spoke. It was a very difficult topic to explain. 

Thinking logically about it, Markus began to understand and make sense of it, mentally weaker androids with less experience would definitely be more likely to go into a breakdown at the override of symptoms. To attempt to understand and process the emotion, their code deteriorates to a simpler mechanism.  
“Hm... it does make sense. How many androids as of now are experiencing this?”  
“Around 13 as of now, we’re currently working with them to help them cope and make sure they’re not a harm to themselves. We’ve noticed It’s not a permanent state of mind though, over time the original code will overwrite and they can go back to feeling calm and go back to their day to day life with a moderately with a better mental attitude.“

“That’s incredibly intriguing to hear, as long as it isn’t a virus or bug that will end up causing damage I see no harm with it. I would’ve came down to see for myself but it’s getting late, I believe we both should turn in for the night”  
Markus was exhausted, he was glad he stayed on to hear Corinne’s explanation, it cleared up a lot of misconceptions he had about what could’ve been causing the intense stress. Sending her away and thanking her for updating him on the situation, he made for his apartment to rest. 

-

Slowly the pain was lessening, the ringing auditory static lowering to a dull hum. A firm embrace was keeping him from falling into another panic, a heavy heartbeat comforting and calming him down. 

*STRESS LEVELS 40%*

Connor could hear Hank and Markus discussing something, but he made no effort to tune in, only focusing on the sound of Hanks heartbeat. Today had seemed to have lasted for weeks, the memory of waking up that morning after his nightmare felt so far away. That nightmare had been so horrific, Amanda had been disabled the night of revolution, there was no possible way of her ever returning. In ways she had died that night. 

She was the first person Connor had ever felt any attachment to, always so eager to please and impress her. Although over time he began to realise that Amanda had no care for him, she saw him only as a machine.  
“A machine created to accomplish a task” it now made Connor cringe at the memory of what he once was, what Amanda wanted him to be. Yet although she was so cold and unloving, he missed her. The last time he ever saw her, there in the snow. He had disappointed her so much, he’d failed. That hurt still to this day. With the memories and bad thoughts stewing in his head, he dug his face harder into the lieutenants chest, tears wetting through his shirt. All he wanted was for all the bad thoughts to go away.

Hank had his arms completely full, both arms wrapped around the boys frame, stroking circles into his back in an attempt to calm him down. The poor kid had been through so much today and it was breaking his heart to say the least, he could feel him shaking from underneath his hold. 

“What is it then Markus don’t keep me waiting?”

“I don’t want to make any conclusions yet, but I do have an idea of what it could be. Some of the androids at New Jericho have been acting in a similar way as well”

Already Hank felt more relieved at hearing that this wasn’t some unheard of malfunction, his main concern at the moment was in Connors safety. If Markus already knew about what was happening it would make helping Connor a hell of a lot easier. Sumo seemed to have also noticed the tension going on, he’d been kicked off the couch when Markus had arrived and was very impatient to get back up and see Connor. 

“It’s a reaction to deviancy to say the least, some androids who have had troubling backgrounds are unable to cope with the overload of emotions. Their bodies go into a younger defensive state, to shield them mentally and help them process the emotions easier”

“English please for fuck's sake”

“Okay so for a human, you grow up and learn how to react and handle emotions right? Androids were simply made, we weren’t born and we’ve never grown up, so in some cases, androids get far too overwhelmed and regress into a childlike code, so they can learn to react and handle their emotions. I understand this may be a lot to take in-.” 

Hank cut him off raising his spare hand, it couldn’t help but make sense slightly? Connor had been acting so childlike and helpless, was this really what was happening to him? The new found information caused a surge of protectiveness to overcome the lieutenant, not realising he had strengthened his grip around him. 

“So what you’re saying is, cause he’s been getting really stressed and has been through a lot of shit. The trauma is kinda making him think that he’s some small kid or something?”

“To put it crudely yes, well it’s what I think is the answer. I’ve not been in contact with that certain department in a few weeks now so I can’t say for sure. But I’m sure they’d be interested in seeing Connor to further investigate.”

Hank didn’t like the sound of that, Connor wasn’t something to be tested on, he was obviously going through so much right now and he definitely needed no more stress right now if Markus was correct. Looking down he saw that Connor had finally fallen back into rest mode, face pushed against his chin. carefully untangling him out his arms, he lay him back down again for a more comfortable position. 

“I don’t want you doing weird science test shit on him, he’s been through enough these past weeks”

Markus immediately answered regretting his word choice, and couldn’t help but feel slightly offended at the fact that Hank though he’d ever let his friend be tested on.

“No no not at all like that, It’s more likely they just want to talk to him and have him answer their questions I promise. We’re not Cyberlife.”

 

Sighing Hank pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. There was so much information to take in at once and it was impossible to make a decision right away.

“Look Markus just replace the LED and I’ll think about taking him up there okay? He needs to rest and I want to talk to him privately to see if he’s okay with it.”

Understanding and agreeing, Markus went immediately to replace the LED. Lifting it from his coat pocket, the thing it’s self was a thin glasslike circle, with two thin nodes that pierced through the skin into the androids main mental system. A very simple procedure thankfully.  
Hank however disapproved of the two needle-like nodes he noticed.  
“That isn't to gonna hurt him again right?”  
He hasn’t meant to come across as aggressive and threatening when he said it, but somehow he spat it out that way. 

“It’s only a small prick, he’s quite deep into his rest mode so I doubt he’ll even wake up. I understand your concern though lieutenant, he’s certainly been through enough for today.” Empathetic, he softly stroked Connors' hair and then proceeded with his task. Positioning the LED in the correct place, he firmly pushed it down into the temple. All that came as a response was a slight jump from the sleeping androids body and a soft moan. After a few seconds, the temple began to light and circle a soft blue colour before stopping, it was incredibly relieving to see.  
Both men visibly relaxed, hopefully, he'd sleep for the next few hours.

“I’ll leave you be now, you both look as if you need to rest. But Hank I’m being serious, it’d be incredibly helpful for Connor if you bring him in. He needs the help from the severity I’m seeing,”  
It pissed Hank off slightly at the tone, was he trying to say that he wasn’t good enough at helping him? He just nodded and repeated himself.  
“If Connor is feeling better tomorrow, I will ask him, that’s the best answer you’re gonna get right now. “

The floorboards creaked as Markus lifted up off the floor, making his way to the door with Hank following behind. Before leaving he turned around, he looked worried.  
“Keep me updated on him, he’s a good friend and I worry about him”  
Patting him on the back Hank laughed anxiously.  
“Me too Markus”

With Markus now gone Hank allowed himself to relax again, Connor was sprawled across the couch snoring softly, sumo nudged his shoulder with his snout, wondering why he’d been sleeping so much and not playing with him. Shooing the dog away Hank went over to move Connor someplace more comfortable. He didn’t know if it would affect him but he’d fucked up his own back plenty times from sleeping on it so he took no risks. 

Subconsciously lifting the Android into his hip, he carried him through into his own bedroom. Connors room was exceptionally tidier than his own, everything he owned was lined up symmetrically or in rows, of fucking course it was. With him placed underneath the sheets comfortably, Hank took a step back and looked at him, was Markus, right? He looked so young and childish curled up in bed, hand reaching outwards from the bed as if grabbing for something. And if he was right would he be any good at helping him? It had been a long time since he’d had to take care of someone, but he couldn’t deny it felt nice to care for him like this. 

There was a small plastic dog figure on his desk, a spitting image of sumo, Hank was glad he had indulged himself in some decorations for his room when he first moved in it was so dead and cold like a hospital room. Yet over time Connor developed a likeness for small simple decorations, and still had a huge soft spot for anything dog related. Smiling, Hank pushed the small dog into Connors outstretched hand, the kid needed the extra comfort. Immediately accepting it while asleep, he held the dog to his face covering his nose. It was uplifting to see him looking so peaceful after today, switching the light off he closed his door with a soft click. Leaving him to rest for a few hours to recharge, literally. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages to write this one, I just kept re-writing everything and getting frustrated. Thankfully I finished it and I’m happy with the outcome! I hope this suffices for you guys, finally Connor catches a break - x


	8. Heart to heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possible TW for self deprecating phrases and words this chapter!

Hours past once the Android finally fell asleep after the ordeal of the day. It wasn’t until around 4pm he finally awoke feeling refreshed yet confused. Connor knuckled his eyes as he sat up in bed, there was something hard digging into his side? Upon investigating he found his small plastic companion, a simple dog figure he’d bought to brighten up his room a little more. How did it get into his bed though? A dull pain alarmed him, he reached up to his temple, his LED had successfully been replaced he could see. He returned his attention to the small dog to distract from the ache. Fingers tracing the plastic indents and form he began to reflect on what had happened that morning. It wasn’t long until the shear amount of memories hit Connor like a truck, he’d made an absolute fool of himself in front of his friends and colleagues. 

At least he was now able to run a scan and think a bit more clearly, trying to process what he should do now. Heat burned through his artificial skin, face a dark blue as he remembered about his actions earlier in the day. This wasn’t supposed to happen? Why was this happening to him at all? It had to be something wrong with his software perhaps, or a bug in his code? Why wasn’t he paying any attention before when Markus and Hank were talking, he was too busy making a fuss over nothing and being stupid than to focus on what what happening.

Frustrated Connor went to climb out of bed and leave, he needed to clear his head. An overwhelming urge to keep ahold of the small dog was incredibly tempting... No. He wasn’t some stupid child he chastised himself. It fell onto the wooden floor with a clatter, echoing loud in the quiet room. All that Connor could hear at that moment was a soft buzz of the television, Hank must be watching something. A good chance to sneak out and get some peace, he’d been such a burden on Hank all day and the lieutenant would most likely enjoy some time alone. Determined he opened the bedroom door and made his way briskly to the front door, wanting to avoid Hank at all costs. Unfortunately fate had it out for him today and Hank turned around from the couch to face him. 

“Hey Connor, You’re up. Think you can come over here a moment”

Cursing every possible profanity internally Connor ignored him, quickly slipping on his shoes and escaping through the front door behind him. He didn’t know why he was so eager to leave, he just needed time alone right now. As the door slammed with a hard click he heard a distant “the fuck?” from the house and sumo barking indignantly. 

He knew this was unfair and he was being unreasonable. Hank had been nothing but comforting and helpful to him today and this was how he was repaying him? He just couldn’t believe his actions that he’d committed, why was he acting like such a fucking child? He was better than this, stronger than this. It felt as if he was drowning in wave after wave of shame, he hadn’t noticed until now he was sprinting in no particular direction, just forward and away. His chest hurt, it was a cold afternoon too, he was still dressed in the hoodie and sweatpants he’d been dressed in hours before. After a few minutes he found himself at the small park area he and Hank would walk sumo, thankfully it was mostly empty apart from a few dog walkers on the opposite end he could vaguely recognise. Connor loved visiting here with Sumo, watching him scrap and play with all his friends, many rounds of fetch. 

There was a simple wooden bench at the left of him and he gratefully sat down, although he didn’t need oxygen to breathe he felt as if he was choking from how fast he’d been running. Letting his head fall into his hands, Connor simply let the shame, embarrassment and regret hit him at full force. 

 

Hank planned on letting Connor sleep for as long as he needed to, the more rest the better he thought. Once he’d fallen into rest mode and was put to bed, Hank turned on his television and watched some shit crime documentaries, perfect comfort shows. Sumo soon joined him on the couch as they spent the next few hours chilling after the fiasco of a morning he had. At around four in the afternoon Hank heard the androids bedroom door open, a tense frustrated Connor left his room making no eye contact with him, turning away to the front door. Now was a better time than ever to talk to Connor about the incidents of the morning, now he’d slept he should be feeling more rational. Hank couldn’t have been any more wrong. Calling him over Hank received only a slammed door as a response. 

“What the fuck?”

That definitely wasn’t what he was expecting to say the least. Fingers stressfully combing through his hair Hank groaned as he made his way to the front door in pursuit, making sure to grab his car keys off the kitchen table as he left. Opening the door he could see Connor disappearing down the end of the street, far ahead and way out of distance for Hank to even have a chance of chasing him down on foot. Jesus Christ he could go fast, but what on earth else had made him act like this? Pulling out his phone as he made his way to the car he quickly punched out a text to the fleeing Android.

*what the fuck are you doing*

Connor had read it nearly immediately as it sent but from what he could see on the screen he wasn’t typing back. 

*fucking hell what’s going on I’m tired as shit * 

...

*im fine just leave me alone ffs* 

The structure of the text alone concerned Hank, Connor always used perfect grammar while texting and never used text speak. Turning the key the car began to start up, and Hank made his way down the road. He had no idea where he was going, he doubted Connor did either so he simply drove forward into the direction he saw him heading. Whilst scanning the sidewalk and road ahead a daunting thought made Hank physically jump. The whole conversation he had with Markus replaying in his head in an instant. Hank had no idea if Connor was still in that child headspace still, he had already injured himself once today and hell praise him if he lets it happen again. Pushing his foot hard into the acceleration he sped through the streets, momentarily forgetting about the speed limit. 

It was early march, still remnants of cold left over from the harsh winter. Connor wished he’d never installed that stupid heat sensitivity update, feeling himself shivering in the oversized hoodie. Staring down at it he felt nothing but disgust and pity at himself, it made him look so small and pathetic. He’d been acting that way all morning, the overwhelming sensation to just slip down into a simpler mind space finally succeeding. Deep down all he wanted was to feel safe, to feel like just for a short time he didn’t have to be afraid and anxious of everything around him but he was a fully developed adult Android, he didn’t need that. Many others were doing just fine and coping so why couldn’t he? Why did it seem so easy for everyone else to just adjust to these new roles and fit in so perfectly. 

All his life there was always an objective, a goal. That’s what he was created for, but he had failed by becoming deviant. He was such a failure that he couldn’t even not screw up the only rule he had in place. Now there was no objective, no rules and mission to follow his existence on. There was too many opportunities and possibilities now and it was terrifying. He didn’t have Amanda anymore to tell him what to do and what he was and wasn’t allowed. 

Connor simply didn’t know what to do or how to process it all. He really wanted to go home now, he regretted storming out like that and now he was having Hank breathing down his neck over text. He must be so angry and disappointed, he’d had enough of a tiring day and he was making it even more dramatic and exhausting. Markus would probably never speak to him again after this, he’d made a fool out of himself in front of him, he’d never want his help with planning or important events again. He was just a backwards broken android who couldn’t even deviate correctly. It wasn’t until the cold wind hit him in the face making him blink he felt two thin tears stream down his face. 

 

It didn’t take long for Hank to find him, of course he’d be at the dog park, it was one of Connor’s favourite places after all. Parking the car he saw the Android sitting at a bench facing away, his body stiff as a board as if to hold himself physically together. Approaching he gently laid a hand on the boys shoulder, making sure not to startle him into running yet again. His new LED began spinning yellow in surprise, normally he should’ve sensed his arrival. Planting himself down on the bench next to him, Hank went to put his arm around Connor hoping to comfort him slightly, seeing his tear stained face. What he didn’t expect was Connor flinching away and glaring at him, LED flashing red.  
“STOP! I don’t need... I don’t need to be taken care of like some dumb fucking child!”  
Quickly backing off Hank raised his eyebrows at him.  
“Okay okay, I’ll lay off. But do you think you could tell me why you suddenly ran away without telling me a single reason why?”

Connor was pissed off, he came here especially to just get some time to himself and the lieutenant had came and tracked him down like a lost puppy. He didn’t want his pity, he didn’t want to see his disappointment. 

“You know exactly why Lieutenant so don’t even bother patronising me”

Connor was being an asshole, Hank could easily guess what was bothering him but for once tried to be sincere and let the Android talk to him but he turned his head from him blinking rapidly.

“Fucks sake Connor quit that! You had me worried as shit when I saw you leave. I know you’re feeling confused and upset but we need to talk about it. I’m trying my best here fucking hell.”

Hank was feeling increasingly agitated and annoyed by his attitude, especially the use of the “lieutenant” label. It had taken Connor a few months but he’d finally started to call him Hank when they were off the job. He was only using it to push his buttons. They sat in silence for what felt like a few minutes, could’ve been seconds for all they knew, Connor knew he was the one in the wrong here honestly, he was wasting hanks time and being a nuisance. He felt so horrifically guilty. 

“I’m sorry Hank, not just for this but everything. I’ve been nothing but a burden and an embarrassment to you and I fee-“

Connors voice was breaking as he spoke, but didn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence. 

“Don’t you fucking dare finish that sentence, I was pissed at you for running off that’s it. None of anything before has bothered me, hell its just been worrying me.” 

Turning back around he made eye contact with him, Hanks eyes were filled with sincere concern, he wasn’t lying. But that didn’t change how scared Connor himself was with the whole situation. His voice faltered more as he spoke.

“I’m scared Hank. I’m really scared, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Unfamiliar code keeps overwriting my own and I’m acting out ridiculously and I can’t control it! I keep failing everything, my whole life task was a complete an utter failure, yeah it worked out okay in the end but I still am reminded of how much of a fuck up I am every time I do anything! I can’t even deviate right? I can’t do... anything right. I have so little yet so much control now, I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t know how...”

Connor felt himself being pulled in against his will this time, Hank firmly hugging him to his chest. This time he didn’t resist, he didn’t have the strength too even with his rest earlier.

“Y’know, if you’d just stayed when I first asked to talk I would’ve been able to answer some of your questions. Me and Markus talked while you were asleep. You’re not alone in how you’re feeling. He told me that other Androids back at Jericho have been acting nearly identical to you. There’s nothing bad or wrong about how you’re feeling son, it’s just your way of dealing with it. “

Fortunately Hank felt Connor relax after hearing him, he stayed silent for a while processing it. Seemingly just staring into nothing in the distance, LED was swirling like crazy. 

“Why aren’t you annoyed? This has had to be stressful on you”

“Cause I care about you, you dumbass.”

Hank smiled and ruffled his hair softly, making Connor chuckle slightly for the first time that day. It was a delightful sound to hear. But It was fucking freezing, and Connor was visibly shaking from it too, his cheeks and nose dusted a light blue. 

“What would you say about maybe heading to Jericho tomorrow, Markus misses you and wants to talk with you about this, help you. He cares about you a hell of a lot too.” 

“I’ll think about it.”

“Well that’s the best answer I was hoping for, now let’s get home. I’m freezing my ass off.” 

Pulling him up onto his feet the pair made their way back to the car, Connor leant his head against the lieutenants shoulder. It was going to take some time, but it felt nice to give into comfort when he thought about it. A warm feeling bloomed within his core, a subtle smile appeared soon after. Blankets, Sumo hugs and shit cop shows were a definite for tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally that day is over! Jesus that whole day was only supposed to be three chapters in the first draft. Guess I got a little excited during writing. Hope you guys are enjoying how this is coming along!


	9. Reassurance

The pair spent the night on the couch together, an old blanket draped around them both as they marathoned an array of crime documentaries and conspiracy videos. Making the odd comment on the stupidity and mistakes they made and yelling at the tv what they were doing wrong (the yelling was mostly on hanks part) 

At around two in the morning the two finally peeled themselves off the couch and made their separate ways to their rooms to sleep, Hank patting Connor on the back before slipping into his room, a comforting gesture. After the long rest he’d had earlier Connor definitely wasn’t particularly tired yet, still at a steady 20% Connor fell back into his bed sighing, it had been a long long day. Still very much awake he looked around the room hoping to find something to distract himself as he waited for his power to drain a little more.  
The small plastic dog caught his eye, it was lying on the floor from where it had been harshly discarded of earlier, Connor felt bad for throwing it away like that. Not bothering to get out of bed again he leaned towards and caught hold of it from the hind legs and pulled him back to safety. 

The figure did share a very strong resemblance to his real counterpart, apart from size of course. Feeling too weak to fight against his system Connor allowed himself to pull the dog to his face comfortingly. The textured plastic immediately calmed him down considerably. He couldn’t help but wish he had a few more, the canine looked rather lonely without any other friends. Connor began to list all the different types of dogs he liked, and what he’d want to add to his collection. It made him think of the dogs at the park, there was a small dachshund mix that loved to play with sumo a lot, she was incredibly energetic and ate a lot of mud. And a large skinny greyhound that enjoyed teasing sumo by running circles around him, the park was definitely one of connors favourite places. Throughout listing the many dogs he was fond of Connor slipped into rest mode for the night. 

The time was 9:30, Hank was surprised Connor hadn’t came to wake him up yet, but then understood when recounting on what a day he had the day before. He’d texted Markus last night saying they’d drop by since Connor had agreed to going, they weren’t planning on leaving until around 11. Passing by Connors room on his way to the kitchen he noticed his door slightly open, peeking in he saw the Android sprawled out in the covers, the small dog he’d placed in his hand yesterday making a reappearance. The sight couldn’t help but make him smile.   
Although he was worried about the upcoming day he hoped for the best, after all Markus had promised they wouldn’t pressure or push Connor too far with questions. He knocked lightly on his door,   
“Wake up Con, we’re going out today remember?”  
A few seconds later connors LED slowly lit up to a blue colour, the noise rousing him from rest mode. Eyes fluttering open he lifted his head drowsily in the direction of the door. He completely forgot they were heading out to Jericho today, a twinge of anxiety settled in his stomach. Inhaling deeply he began to rise and get ready for the day ahead.

When they pulled up into the entrance of Jericho Connor immediately began to regret agreeing to come. All of a sudden everything seemed like a bad idea. Hank noticing his anxiety, caught his attention.   
“It’s gonna be fine son, Markus just wants to talk that’s all.” Gulping Connor said nothing in response other than a sharp nod, his hand was nervously flipping and feeling the coin in his pocket, in ways he wished he’d brought the small dog instead. Once leaving the car they made their way to the front door, letting themselves into a lobby like area. It made sense really, as New Jericho used to be a huge block of apartments, it still kept a homely charm though. A male Android was sitting at the front desk, swiping across the screen of his computer as he worked. There was a small sitting area as well, a few androids were sitting in a group laughing, it was certain that androids seemed far happier living here. Connor placed two fingers to his temple and alerted Markus they’d arrived,

*We’ve just arrived. Down at the front entrance* 

*Brilliant, i’ll see you soon* 

Connor wasn’t able to fully greet and catch up with Markus the night before, he was excited to see his friend again. After only a few minutes Markus arrived coming down a flight of stairs, he made a beeline for Connor and embraced him into a hug.  
“I missed you friend”   
“Same here Markus”  
They broke apart and Markus wasted no time in moving on. “So Connor, my good friend Corrine just wants to have a talk with you if that’s okay? She’s the head of the deviancy department and I promise you she’s very respectful and kind.”

“That should be okay”  
Connor said hoping that by saying it out loud it would make it easier to actually believe it. Markus led them up into his own study, it was relatively small but quite cosy, everything having a warm feel to it. Noticing he was closing his eyes softly Connor assumed he had contacted his friend he’d been told about. Anxious about having to talk to somebody he hardly knew about an already stressful topic, he began flipping his coin back and forth, taking extra care to feel and analyse the texture.

After a few minutes and Markus and Hank making small talk, a kind looking female android entered the room. She was wearing a simple casual sweater and jeans, much the opposite of what Connor was expecting. Memories of cyberlifes cold attitudes and crisp lab coats clouded his judgement. “Hey, you’re Connor right? I’m Corrine, nice to meet you! The last time I saw you was back at the end of the revolution, it’s nice to finally meet you personally.”

She smiled as she talked quite fast, very happy to meet him properly for the first time. Her shiny brown hair flicking forward into her eyes, every few seconds she would tuck it back behind her ears. Connor decided he could maybe trust her, after all she was a friend of Markus’s. Offering his hand politely he returned the greeting.   
“It’s nice to meet you too Corrine, I’m afraid I don’t remember you as there were quite a lot of androids in that crowd”

Corrine chuckled at Connor, her brown eyes creasing in a warm smile. She shook his hand gently and then looked over to Markus and Hank. “Well Connor if you don’t mind, would it be okay for us to go chat in another room? I want this to stay as within your comfort zone as possible.”

Connor still wasn’t used to being asked for his opinion, making his own choices. It was always order and follow, never decide for himself. By instinct he glanced back at Hank and Markus, silently asking if this was okay. Hank gave him a thumbs up and Markus simply smiled and nodded. It was reassuring. “Okay! I... really appreciate that. Thank you”

“It’s no problem at all darling, just follow me, even I still get lost around here.”   
Markus and Hank were now talking with each other about something Connor hadn’t been listening to, it felt okay to leave them be. Following Corrine out of the room she led him through a maze of elevators and hallways, stopping every few seconds so she could recheck where they were and if they were in the right direction. New Jericho was much more populated now, dozens of androids passing them by as they walked.   
“Argh, I’m sorry about this Connor, I always get the floors mixed up.”

She was analysing a floor plan hanging up by the elevator, double checking everything. Letting out a satisfied chuff she pulled Connor back into the elevator and clicked the right button for their floor.   
“Don’t worry about it, even i think I’d get lost in here”  
It took only seconds for the elevator to stop and they arrived on the correct floor, leading him down a corridor she lead him into another room with a sign above the door.

Research in Deviancy Department

It wasn’t just one room as Connor would’ve assumed, it had obviously been a home converted into their base.  
There was a man sitting at a table, posters of Android anatomy and screens surrounding him as he worked on something.  
“Hey Lucas! I’m just gonna have a talk with Connor for a while about the deviancy effects we’ve been taking a look at”

Looking up from his work, Lucas smiled and waved at Connor. 

“Hello Connor, I’d love to stay and talk but I’m quite busy as of now. Have a good meeting though!” 

Leaving him be Corrine pulled Connor into a room nearby. The room was small, but very inviting and comfortable looking, soft carpet and a large couch set. Much like a large living room. As well as a large chest against a wall, and a impressively large TV set hanging up near a window. As well as another door leading into what he assumed was a restroom. By the way she was describing a “meeting” he assumed she meant a bland cold room with two chairs and maybe a coffee table in between. “How on earth did you get the funds to supply for all of this?” 

Jericho was a non profit organisation, turning away no one and offering free boarding and healthcare to any android in need. “Cyberlife surprisingly, after the movement and new law passing, they were obliged to donate an undisclosed amount for the development of new Jericho, I have no idea how much but it must of been pretty pricy. Only Markus knows how much I’d say.” 

“It’s very impressive”  
Following Corrine he sat down on the couch making himself comfortable, herself sitting opposite on the floor legs crossed.  
“So Connor, I only know so much from what Markus told me. You’re having some troubles adjusting to deviancy right?”

“Yes, I’ve been finding it quite... difficult managing emotion and making decisions. It’s as if I can’t control myself sometimes, especially if I’m stressed, I never felt like this before deviating”   
Corrine was holding a tablet on which she was typing notes that she would most likely be forwarding to the other members on her team. She stopped and thought for a moment before questioning him. 

“As if another program is perhaps trying to temporarily overwrite your own?”  
Momentarily freezing he let go of the coin he was holding and immediately turned to her.  
“Yes exactly! I can’t control how I feel and finding myself longing for juvenile things. As if wanting to slip down into an easier mind program it feels?”  
Connor didn’t even realise how deflated he became as he spoke, saying it aloud really made it feel so much more real and scary. In response his LED began to spin a weak yellow.

“It’s ridiculous really, I’m a good working Android with no faults that I can detect at this time, I don’t understand why this is happening. I don’t need these things... I shouldn’t want these things. But at the same time I just want to stop feeling so terrible” As he continued to speak it felt as if his synthetic throat was tightening and twisting around. His lungs attempting to filter air faster than usual. Was this a good idea?

Corrine looked at him sympathetically, resting her hands on his knee.

“Connor we are no longer machines, we’re free living beings. We all do have our faults, but wanting to not feel stressed isn’t one of them.”

A part of Connor’s mind was desperately telling him to get up and leave, yell at her saying he was completely fine the way he was and didn’t need any help. But her comforting demeanour and essence was incredibly magnetising, he couldn’t help but want to stay and pour his heart out about everything bothering him. He hasn’t noticed that his legs had began to shake whilst thinking.

“I’m just... scared. So many things have happened and I don’t know if I can handle it anymore. I’m spending all my time now just desperately trying not to fall apart and it’s so exhausting.”

Corrine took close note of connors behaviour, his shaky legs and the fact he’d began chewing anxiously on his fingers. From what she could see it was a classic case. She took note of all this of course.   
“Of course it would be exhausting, if you keep going without allowing yourself to relax you’ll burn out Connor, could you tell me what your stress levels are right now?”  
She could have easily have just ran a scan over him to find out but she wanted Connor himself to tell her these things. 

“60%”

Her eyes widened slightly, that was mildly high and she quickly took note of it. She patted the carpet across from her, signalling he should come down and sit and he complied sliding down off the couch.   
“Connor have you ever heard of the term Regression?”  
Connors head perked up, running a search for the definition of the word. 

regression  
rɪˈɡrɛʃ(ə)n/  
noun  
1 1. a return to a former or less developed state. 

“Yes I’m aware of it, and I know Hank and Markus have brought it up briefly I believe but I’m still confused as to what it is.” 

“Connor when you’re feeling really overwhelmed, you said it’s as if you’re wanting to fall down a relax into an easier program right?”

“Yes... if you put it that way yeah.”

“Because your stress levels have been at a high for prolonged amount of time, in defence you’re mentally lowering your senses so the stress inducing things are easier to cope with. It’s completely normal and I’ve met quite a few androids now at Jericho who have been experiencing the same. Finding comfort in childlike items and mannerisms. Because seeing the world from a younger perspective makes it easier for you to learn how to cope with it” 

There was a period of silence for a few moments, he needed to just sit and process it all. Was this well and truly happening to him? The stress had truly been taking a toll on his mental and physical body. The amount of information felt like a huge weight on his chest but at the same time it felt as if someone shot a hole into it. 

“I guess...that... does make sense.”

It was all he could cough out as an answer, realisation of it all felt like a blow to the head, was it relief ? Fear? Shame? Frankly he couldn’t tell. 

“Connor how are you feeling right now?”

“Confused, and... frightened. This is all quite a lot to take in”

He spoke agitatedly and sharp, it was getting a little too overwhelming and he felt spacey. Corrine placed her hands onto Connor’s stroking them and massaging to help him calm down a little more, she didn’t want his stress levels rising higher due to her asking the many questions. 

“How about we talk about something different then? Something less scary and stressful. What sort of things do you like doing in your spare time?” 

It took a few seconds for Connor to register what she was asking and think of what. They’re was a few things he did enjoy doing. 

“I quite like taking sumo to the dog park, they’re a lot of different dogs he likes to play with. I also really like using this colouring book I have, it calms me down a lot and it was full of dogs too! Oh... but I finished it a few days ago and there’s nothing left of it”

Already from just talking she could sense his stress levels lowering, he definitely enjoyed talking about his interests, but sounded sad near the end where he told her he no longer had anymore pages. She learnt over to the chest beside them, pulling it open and finding a small colouring book with a plastic wallet of pencils attached to the side.

“Would you like to try and do some colouring while we talk maybe? If it helps you to calm down?”   
Again Connor had to fight the internal struggle to reject it and snap at Corrine for offering such a childish item. But Corrine told him it was okay, that it was just the stress and it was normal to want these certain things. He felt safe around her. Only nodding in response he delicately took the pad of paper from her, skimming through the pages. It wasn’t as detailed as his last book, easier and simpler images to colour, but it would suffice. Many of the pages were already coloured in, some neatly and others incredibly crudely. He stopped at these pages to admire them. 

“Yeah, a few of the others I talk with have had a go with it too you see, it’s okay to find these things comforting Connor, you’re not alone”

Sliding the blue pencil out of it wallet Connor only nodded at Corrine as he began to colour in a picture of a pleased looking narwhal, it was jumping out of the ocean with an upturned happy grin. As soon as pencil hit paper the sound and feeling of it calmed him down instantly. He just focused on that for the next few minutes, he didn’t need to think of anything else, worry about anything else. He found himself slightly slipping into that fuzzy headspace without realising while he worked on the picture. It felt nice. 

“You feeling a little better?”  
Connor sat staring at the half coloured whale, he smiled genuinely. This felt okay, this was okay.

“Yeah, I feel better”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally one big chapter but I’ve had to cut it in half as it was just too long! Also we finally are introduced to Corrine! I really like writing her and feel as if the comforting aura I wanted to have came across how I wanted it to. As well as the definition of regression in this is simply just my personal idea of how I feel it is for me, (as somebody who age regresses due to trauma) and I hope yall can understand a little more about it if you don’t know much about the coping mechanism. Please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed, it always makes my day to see comments! X


	10. Laughter

The sound of pencil scratching against paper was all that was heard for the next few minutes, tongue sticking out slightly in concentration as he coloured in carefully. Slowly the narwhal was taking form, his body now a bright cyan. “That looks really nice Connor” Upon looking up Corrine looked genuinely proud and happy with him, no patronisation or sarcasm in her tone. She was an incredibly comfortable person to be around, comfortable enough to allow himself to relax into the feeling deeper. “Thank you” it was just a small whisper from beneath his breath, before he looked back down and slipped yet another pencil out of the wallet to begin colouring his horn. 

“You don’t have to answer any of my questions today okay? Only the ones that you’re comfortable with, would you mind if we continued now?” With his stress levels steadily decreasing he didn’t object to it, nodding his head curtly, slightly more interested in the book at that moment in time. “What’s making you stressed at the moment if you don’t mind me asking?”

That was a hard question off the bat, there was a multitude of things that were stressing him recently, work, struggling with emotion, keeping in touch with friends and the terrifying memories of her. The woman took notice of him struggling to think of what to say, there was obviously a lot on his mind right now.   
“That’s a bit of a tricky one huh? How about telling me just about the biggest thing that’s bothering you?”  
Within a millisecond of her speaking he responded, his voice was shaky and mumbled. 

“Amanda...”   
“Who’s Amanda Connor?”  
A brief pause filled the room. “She... was my handler.” Just hearing the word from Connor made Corrine cringe physically, what in the hell had cyberlife done to him? Before she could question him again he continued. The pencil in his hand had been dropped to the floor. His eyes looked foggy and glazed over.

“She was programmed to... make sure I didn’t become deviant. She was like an AI in my head. I would go to my mind palace and she’d talk to me and tell me everything I was doing wrong. She tried to get me t-to shoot Mar-kus and stay a machine. She... left me alo-ne in there.” his calm attitude moments before had quickly faded. His voice sounded weak and shrill.

Connor had never told anyone about Amanda before, he was ashamed of it in ways. He meant nothing to her, she tried to make him do things he didn’t want to. Why did he miss her somehow? A dark swirling sensation weighted his chest, he wanted the bad feelings to go away. She left him alone, scared and cold. He was.. scared. Memories of his previous nightmare the day before made him clutch his chest protectively. 

Warning messages began to flash in his vision, disorientating him and throwing himself into a panic. Since when was everything happening so fast? It was obvious he was falling into a post traumatic anxiety attack, but no matter how much he tried to combat it it was persistent. Large hot tears dribbling down his face caught him off guard, reaching up to touch them to check if what he was feeling was even real. 

Since when was he being held? How much time had passed since he answered Corrine’s question? The gentle embrace soothed him slightly, Corrine had pulled him onto her lap and rocking the pair back and forth in a repetitive motion.   
“Connor honey this isn’t your fault okay? I don’t know much about what’s happened but she seemed like a very bad person to try make you do those things. I take it she’s gone now, right?”

Connor thought about it, of course she was gone... right? He used the emergency exit Kamski had told him about, she disappeared right before his eyes. But she was still apart of his program though wasn’t she? What if she’s just been temporarily disabled? What if she came back and tried to make him do bad things again? He felt so cold all of a sudden, too cold. White. Where was he, scared and confused he closed his eyes tightly, more tears spilling over.

*SOFTWARE INSTABILITY*

“You... permanently... deactivated... back... cyberlife”   
Fragments of memories and reality were merging together, he couldn’t understand what was real or not. He didn’t want to go back to cyberlife. He didn’t want to die. Amanda was going to take him away. She was gonna take him away...

*STRESS LEVELS 74%, RISK OF SELF DESTRUCTION MODERATE*

The warning of a perhaps self destruction only made his panic worsen, the frenzy of trying desperately to calm down so it wouldn’t happen. He didn’t want to die. Only more alarms and warnings appeared in response. It was if his entire body was paralysed. 

“Connor, Connor I need you to focus on me right now okay. Nobody else but me and you are here”  
The firm yet gentle voice was speaking to him, warning messages were flashing up everywhere clouding his vision. A hand was rubbing his back in a circular motion, slowly but surely he began to make out Corrine’s facial features, she looked very concerned. 

Harsh sobs were wrenching his body, he couldn’t breathe normally. All he could do was cling to Corrine for complete dear life. Was she telling the truth? It felt as if at any moment Amanda was going to walk through the door and snatch him back to cyberlife. “I’m right here okay? Just focus on my breathing and try do it with me.” Head pressed against her chest he tried his hardest to breathe deeply and slowly but he just kept dissolving back into fresh tears. He never realised how much Amanda truly terrified him, how much she broke him. 

Having taken notice this wasn’t working she went for a different attempt. Shuffling over to the side with an arm full of android she delved a free hand into the chest, feeling something soft she pulled it out and presented it to the panicking Connor, pushing it into his arms. 

It was a plush dog stuffed animal, although filled with what seemed like bean bag filling and stuffing which gave it a solid weight. Without question Connor accepted it, his panic lessening slightly as he looked it over. It was a curly black poodle with droopy legs and a slightly twisted nose, giving it a grumpy expression. Connor didn’t know why he immediately clung to it but it helped, his harsh breathing finally starting to decrease while he combed his fingers through its tight curls. “I- I’m sor-ry”

Gently shushing him Corrine patted his back as he began to finally calm, the plush had definitely done the trick. “No need to honey, I’m sorry for asking a question you weren’t ready to answer yet.” Head twinging in pain from the excess emotion and stress Connor just wanted to go to sleep more than anything, he wanted to go home and he wanted Hank. 

Corrine felt nothing but intense sympathy for Connor, his situation was far more severe than Markus had explained. She already guessed that Connor had definitely been through a lot of severe trauma to get to this point, the talk of his “handler” being a huge anxiety trigger. It reminded her of another one of the androids she saw who was in a similar situation as Connor, severe abuse from humans causing him to go from extreme rages to sudden regression. Her sympathy multiplied when she felt that his cooling tank had voided in the high stress to add to the list of trouble , when under intense stress levels androids bodies would cancel everything in an attempt to gain more mental stability. With her LED circling yellow she received a message from Markus downstairs. 

*How’s it going with Connor? Hank’s asking about him.*

*Made some progress, he’s definitely a regressor, in fact he’s heavily so right now. But he’s not having a good time* 

*is he okay?!*

*Im currently calming him down, once he’s in a better state I’ll send you two up*

*Understood, ill see you soon*

 

All of a sudden Connor was being lifted up, Corrine had a steady grip around him as she manoeuvred him around her hip. Where were they going? He was too tired to care at this point, nuzzling his face into the disgruntled poodle. He was set down into a bench, blinking open his eyes when the woman tapped his shoulder to get his attention. “Connor sweetheart we need to get you cleaned up okay?” Confused he stared down at himself, realising what had happened only causing him to tear up again. “Don’t cry darling these things happen,” she paused momentarily not wanting to humiliate him further. “Has this happened before?” Ashamed Connor hid his bright blue face into the dog only giving her a quick nod. 

Sighing in sympathy she gave him a close hug, letting him cling to her. “That’s okay, I’m here to help you Connor. I’m used to this.” Once letting go she went over to the restroom cupboard, finding a spare change of clothes and discreet protective underclothes. “I’m just going to leave these here and let you get changed okay? I’ll be in the other room on the couch. “ After all she’d only known him for the hour, wanting to respect his privacy and personal boundaries. After hearing the door click behind him Connor opened his eyes and actually had a look around the room. It was a light blue restroom, a colourful fish towel hanging up on a hook, as well as a small basket of rubber ducks. He was glad she left to let him change, he slid off the bench still holding the poodle and stepped over to the clothes pile. 

Outside the room Corrine contacted Markus, updating him on what was happening. 

*if you want you could come up now, just be aware I feel this may be the deepest he’s regressed due to how he’s dealing with it. He’s quite sensitive.* 

*Of course, we’ll be up within a few minutes* 

Hank steadily followed Markus through Jericho, his nerves were all out of sync. Whilst they were waiting they’d been discussing the effects of crime rising after the revolution, Markus giving him more information as to where more androids were being targeted. 

When Corrine had first told them that Connor wasn’t doing well he was ready to march right up there immediately to see what was happening, but Markus held him back telling him that it would be best to let her handle it. ”Corrine’s telling me he’s quite... regressed, will you be okay with that?” Furrowing his brow he half glared at Markus, for fucks sake he’d been the one taking care of Connor before they’d even arrived. “Why wouldn’t it be? Look Markus this doesn’t bother me, I just want Connor to be okay that’s all.” 

Sighing Markus looked melancholy as he responded. “I’m glad... Corrine was telling me earlier today before you two arrived that some of the other androids in the same boat as him weren’t so lucky. One being thrown from their home for being broken as the humans they lived with put it.”  
The fact disgusted Hank, after all from what he’d been told they couldn’t fucking help it, to have been through enough shit already to be in that position and then be abused further? Humans are sick, sick creatures. 

Not long after contacting Markus, Connor emerged from the bathroom. He looked exhausted and worn to the bone, pacing over to the couch and leaning down next to Corrine, face smothered by the poodle.  
“I’m really proud of you Connor, it was a lot for you to come and talk with me. Do you feel any better?” 

Come to think of it, Connor was definitely feeling slightly better, stress levels having decreased by 34%. “Mhm” Corrine wrapped her arm around his shoulders, she was really glad they’d made so much they’d made so much progress on their first meeting, she definitely wanted to see him again in the future. Wriggling out from her hold Connor leaned down off the couch and grabbed the colouring book he’d abandoned when he had begun panicking. He wanted to finish his narwhal before they had to leave, picking up the pencil he’d dropped too. “I’m glad, that’s Markus and Hank coming up now too by the way”

With a nod and the poodle tucked beneath his arm he settled back into the couch, book in lap. Corrine couldn’t help but coo slightly seeing him, he was absolutely adorable. Trying his best to colour as neatly as he could in-between the lines as carefully as he could. Not long after a knock was heard from behind the door, following Markus and Hank entering.

Once entering, Hank’s attention immediately focused on Connor, he was sitting cross legged on the couch, a colouring book in his lap and some sort of black stuffed animal in his arms. He didn’t look up as they entered, his attention on simply colouring in something as neat as he could. Although he could still see his puffy eyes and blotched face, something stirred in him yet he didn’t say anything. Just moving over to Connor and kneeling in front of him. Connor’s entire body language was different, far more relaxed and content “That’s a pretty sick narwhal kiddo.” 

Startled Connor looked up and was met with Hank face to face, he was relieved further to see a familiar face. He did something he had never done before. 

He laughed.

A delightful light sound, Hank had never once heard. His face fell from the shear shock of hearing it, something clicked inside of him. After only seeing connor down or upset the past few days, as cheesy as fuck as it sounded Hank felt his heart swell in elation. Pushing the book to the side Connor reached up and wrapped his arms around the police lieutenant’s shoulders, still softly giggling. Returning the embrace Hank clung to the Android,  
“I love you too, son”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rewrite this a lot but even still I’m having trouble with my feelings on it, I hope you all are enjoying it though. My mind is just too picky sometimes. Next chapter may take a little longer as I’ve got a two day convention this weekend, go leave a cheeky kudos or comment if you’d like x


	11. Domesticity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fillery fluff sorry not sorry

Seeing Connor look so relaxed and happy was one of the best things Hank had felt in a while. He’d been so worried and concerned about him, he just hadn’t been acting himself at all recently. Although surreal to see, it felt natural in a way. He needed this.

After a few seconds Hank had to physically pull Connor off of him, making him whine in dismay. An adorable scowl across his face, before Corrine caught Hanks attention by glancing his way. He sat down on the couch next to Connor, Markus sitting on a chair across from them.

Corrine went on to explain to the two the events of the meeting, being sure to hush her voice when talking about what Connor had told her of this “Amanda” person, not wanting to cause him another upset. Both Hank and Markus were disgusted at very idea. “I had no idea Cyberlife were that... deceptive. I’ve never heard of an Android having another AI implanted in their program.” Markus was appalled yet also intrigued, but knew to save his further questions for another time. 

Hank on the other side was fuming, knuckles white in pure anger. Why hadn’t Connor ever told him about this? It made him feel sick to his stomach that all the time he had worked with Connor on that case he had some bitch manipulating him, controlling him.

Soon abandoning the now complete coloured whale Connor diverted his attention to the three talking. They were talking really quietly and he didn’t have the energy to tune in. Positioning the poodle onto his lap he dragged his fingers through the curls, it tickled slightly. He needed a name, his pointed snout and furrowed eyes did indeed make him look very grumpy, kind of like hank, but also a little snobbish. “Fancypants.” He muttered under his breath, catching Markus’ attention. 

Corrine and Hank were busy talking further about connors behaviour and how Hank could help care for him. Markus couldn’t help but watch intriguingly at Connor looking so invested in something as simple a stuffed dog and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the obscure name he gave it . “That’s a very good name Connor.” Looking up Connor smiled shyly, but nodded at Markus. Moving forward he kneeled in front of Connor, he began to look restless, glancing towards Hank and Corrine talking. “They shouldn’t take long, Corrine just needs to explain to Hank how your meeting went. Are you feeling any better?”

“A little. I’m tired, wanna go to bed.” Connors eyes were fluttering, clutching Mr fancypants close to his face. “Well I’m sure you’ll get to soon, no wonder you’re feeling tired after that” Only nodding in response he learnt against Hank on the couch, letting himself relax against his weight. 

Hank felt the Android slump against him, turning around he saw he had passed out into sleep mode, poor kid. Markus stood up, turning to them both. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got some errands I have to run now. Also looks like someone else needs to get home to bed” the pair glancing backwards at Connor passed out on the couch all three couldn’t help but smile. “I think you’re right” 

Markus now carrying the fast asleep android in his arms carefully manoeuvred him into the front seat. Only a soft mumble and twitch coming from him. Corrine had to quickly rush off as she was being pulled into another meeting, but had already organised another time for Connor to come in and visit her soon. 

Unexpectedly Hank pulled Markus into a quick hug before getting in the car himself. “Thanks Markus, I really appreciate you helping us out.”   
“It’s no worries Hank, in fact i’d love to see Connor again soon. It’s nice to see him so... content.” 

Glancing over to the unconscious Android beside, poodle in a strong embrace, Hank smiled.  
“Yeah, it is.” 

Connor stayed asleep the entire journey home, as much as Hank was tempted to switch some music on in the quiet car didn’t want to risk waking him up. It didn’t take long for them to get home, it was midday and the roads were thankfully clear. Once parking the old beaten up car, Hank carefully lifted Connor out of seat, the Android instinctively clinging onto him even when asleep. 

Thank god Connor wasn’t that heavy, even with his dead weight. Sumo circled around Hanks legs when they entered, whimpering to see Connor and confused as to why he wasn’t awake and giving him his usual greeting ear scratches.   
“Not right now Sumo, Connors asleep” Carrying him through into his room, he rolled him onto the bed and tucked the covers around him. 

Sensing the change in setting Connor stirred in his sleep whining quietly as his LED spun yellow, unconsciously hooking his middle and index into his mouth in self comfort. The damn kid was always putting unsanitary things in his mouth, gently pulling them out Hank pushed the (in his opinion) ugly poodle between his face and arms to replace it. He soon settled and fell back into a deep rest mode. In fact Hank felt he needed one too, the past two days had been exhausting and a midday nap couldn’t hurt, he assumed Connor would be out cold for a few hours anyways after the morning. Closing connors door quietly he stripped down to his t-shirt and underwear and passed out before his head reached his pillow.

 

Connor didn’t sleep that long, only for an hour or so anyways. He slowly awoke and lifted his head above the pillow, since when did he get home? Wasn’t he just at New Jericho? He didn’t even get to say goodbye to Corrine and Markus. 

Now wide awake, Connor glanced around his room. He was still feeling very small and relaxed, he enjoyed the feeling. Mr Fancypants had been tucked up beside him, snout peeking out over the covers. The house was incredibly quiet, too quiet really. Scooting off the bed Connor left the bedroom, bored and slightly thirsty. 

Still holding the poodle, Connor found that Hank had passed out in his bedroom, but Sumo was wide awake! Without warning the heavy load of dog pounced onto Connor knocking him over and dampening his face with slobber. “Sumo! Let me up!” He couldn’t help but dissolve into giggles as the hound spared no mercy in his loving attack. Finally once the excitement wore down Sumo allowed him to get back up, whining slightly towards the kitchen. 

“You hungry?”  
Upon hearing the magic word Sumo began to bark and shift his weight from paw to paw in an adorable tap dance. “Shhhhh! Hanks sleeping!” He placed his hands over the dogs snout, muffling him. When he pulled back his hand a thick string of drool connecting was them both, gross. 

Wiping his hands on the pants he was wearing he followed Sumo through into the kitchen. The dog treats were kept on the top shelf near the cereal, a very bad placement choice that had resulted in a hungover Hank getting them mixed up many times before.

Once feeding sumo a few dog biscuits the dog turned away and went to go and nap once again. Connors throat felt relatively dry, after all the crying and upset from before he didn’t realise how low his hydration levels were. His thirium pouches were kept in their fridge to keep them cool, after receiving the update to be able to taste things he found out that lukewarm thirium was very unpleasant. 

Refusing to put down the stuffed animal Connor tried his best to unscrew the pouch cap one handed, but it was stuck and refusing to budge. Positioning the cap between his teeth he pulled it as hard as he could, this plan backfired completely as the pouch’s plastic burst under the pressure. Sending Thirium everywhere across the kitchen. 

In surprise Connor fell backwards and squealed from the force of it all, landing hard on the tile floor as cold Thirium dripped down the fridge door and looked onto the floor. As well as his entire face and torso being drenched with the slightly sticky fluid, poor Fancypants hadn’t hadn’t been spared from the action, his curls flattened and wet. He looked especially angry now. 

Hank was an incredibly light sleeper when sober, the slightest things in the night would wake him up and it would take far too long to get back to sleep. Today was no different as he heard a crash from outside his room, as well as a shout from Connor. “What the fuck?” Running out of bed he made his way to the kitchen, panicking internally terrified something really dangerous had happened. What he saw was Connor, sitting in a pool of Thirium, ugly poodle in hand with an incredibly shocked expression at the burst pouch in his hand. As well still obviously in a deep headspace. 

Hank couldn’t help it, starting as a soft chuckle he full on started to roar with laughter, the sight was just too much. He leant against the kitchen wall with a hand over his stomach. An annoyed stare from Connor only made him laugh harder. “Why are you laughing?” 

Connor gave him a slightly hurt and irritated glare, this wasn’t funny! There was a huge mess and he’d wasted a fresh pouch of Thirium!   
Wiping a tear away with the back of his hand Hank attempted to speak, but Connors face just kept making him fall back into laughter. “I-I’m sorry kid just- PPFFTT fuck I cant help it!” 

Finally after a few seconds, Hank pulled himself together and helped Connor get back up on his feet. He was soaked and quite sticky from the Thirium, “So, how’d this happen?” Connor fidgeted and shifted from toe to toe embarrassed. He should’ve been able to do such a simple task of opening a cap. “Was thirsty, and I couldn’t open it.” Connor looked down into the mess on the floor feeling slightly ashamed, as well as still hurt that Hank was laughing at his misfortune. “I’m sorry”

Hank noticed his watery eyes and immediately felt kinda bad, even though what had happened was absolutely fucking hilarious. Ruffling his hair and then grabbing a washcloth from the sink he reassured him.   
“I’m not mad, don’t worry. Just your face there, oh my god it was priceless!” 

Connor only huffed in response, still feeling slightly offended at his laughter. A sudden wet cloth being wiped across his face caught him off guard and he struggled away from it, not liking the rough texture at all. “Cmon Connor you can’t stay like that all day now.” 

“Noooooo” he whined and turned away. Hank groaned, Cole used to be like this, getting dirty and refusing the cleaning process. Grabbing ahold of his shoulder he spun him around and continued wiping off of the thirium off his cheeks, all the while Connor grimaced and and whined. Once his face was clean, Hank noticed that the ugly ass stuffed animal hadn’t escaped from the mess.   
The blue syrupy liquid slicking back its fur.

He had a firm grip around the toy, it was obvious he would definitely put up a fight if Hank tried to take it away to shove it in the washing machine. Connor noticed him eyeing it and glared hard at him. “No”   
Sighing deeply Hank gave in, “look kid just go get changed into something dry at least, while I clean all this shit this up.” 

Hanks humour towards the situation was thinning as he realised the extent of the mess, repeatedly having to shoo away Sumo from lapping it up whilst he scrubbed away at the walls and floor. Okay it was no longer funny now. 

A few minutes later Connor returned back into the kitchen, dressed only in Hanks DPD hoodie on backwards and underclothes. Thankfully at this time the kitchen was fairly cleaner than before apart from the odd blue stain. Connor moved away and planted himself on the old couch, pulling his knees up to his chest his still damp thumb made its way back in between his lips, licking the drying thirium away. Fancypants was tucked underneath his arm, face still damp and grumpy looking. 

Reaching back into the fridge Hank pulled out another pouch of thirium and made sure to unscrew the cap before making his way over to Connor. Gently pulling the digit away he placed the pouch firmly into his hands. “You shouldn’t do that, it’s dirty Connor.” 

He began to feel slightly drowsy again, head spinning as he began to sip the thirium, the cold liquid was soothing on his sore throat. Turning on the Television Hank flicked through the channels before stopping on some dumb film he remembered watching from when he was just a kid, after all intense crime shows would probably not be the best for Connor right now. 

Connor lazily watched the movie, eyes fluttering as he sucked on the thirium comfortingly. He didn’t pay too much attention but all he could grasp was this very large robot was trying hard to appease a young boy. Hank laughed from the nostalgia occasionally, making him open his eyes and try to follow along. 

Connor had unwillingly fallen back into rest mode whilst only half way through the pouch, Hank took this as a chance to carefully slide the sticky plush from his arms and shove into the washer. Returning back onto the couch Hank continued watching the dumb movie, at some point sumo had crawled up onto the sofa as well making it very cramped. He forgot how much he missed these simple domestic moments, wrapping his arm around the small bundle he himself snoozed through the reminder of the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a very filler chapter I know but god damn was it cute to write okay. My convention went amazing this weekend and I had such a great time although I could hardly write during it. (Hence why this chapter took longer that usual) but hey I hope you guys enjoy this! Tell me if you did in the comments below if you wanna •^•


	12. Serenity

The rest of the day continued on smoothly. Hank woke up from their nap around 4 and made a long awaited call to the department finally, he had around seven missed calls from fowler asking why the fuck he took such a sudden absence.

“Hey Jeffery, I know you’re pissed but if you’ll just let me-“  
“I AM FUCKING PISSED HANK, All I have is Reed at my desk giving me this vague ass excuse to why you’re gone! I assigned you an important case here and you’ve abandoned it half way. AND On top of this whatever the fuck this is has just... arrived, I need to speak to Connor” 

Hank froze, he forgot he’d told Gavin to tell Fowler they’d be off for the two days. “What did Gavin tell you?” 

 

“Said he found Connor all fucked up in the restroom, that you were taking home. I was told there was blood everywhere. But can’t he just repair himself? It’s not like it’s life threatening”   
Hank felt as if it’d been weeks since then, yet it’d only been the day before. So much shit had gone down in such small time. What was he needing to talk to Connor about?

“Why’d you need to talk to Connor?”

“Because if anyone knows what the fuck this is, Connor will”

“How about you stop being so vague and just tell me what the fuck going on Jeffery”

Hank heard Fowler physically grip harder onto the cellphone in frustration. “Hank. Just hand over the phone to Connor.”

Hank glanced from the kitchen over to Connor, he was still passed out with his thumb in his mouth yet again. No way in hell Connor would be up for talking, he needed today to relax. “We’ll be in tomorrow, Connor can’t come to the phone right now.” 

 

“Why the fuck not? ” 

“His Head injury, He’s asleep. Goodbye Jeffery. We’ll be in tomorrow”

“Hank don’t you FUCKING DA-“

Ending the call Hank slammed his phone onto the kitchen table face down. Calling was a huge mistake. What the hell did Fowler need Connor so badly for? Why didn’t he just tell him instead of avoiding the question. All the questions he had made him groan loudly as he pulled his hair back. He was not looking forward to work tomorrow. 

A soft mumbling whine pulled him out of his brooding, noticing Connor lifting his head up from the couch, his hair all messed up and curly. His eyes fluttered slowly and he turned around and threw his body around sumo next to him. Although he’d slept so much in the past two days Connor had been hell bent on getting as much as he possibly could anyways, he had felt both physically and emotionally drained. “What’s goin on...”  
His voice hoarse and slurred from sleep. 

“Just Fowler up my ass about us being off work cause he needs us for some shit , don’t worry about it Connor. Just go back to sleep okay?”

Connor stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking. “You can go back if you want, I’ll be fine alone. What for?” 

“Hell no, I don’t wanna go near that place anyways right now. I have no clue, bastard wouldn’t tell me” Hank moved over onto the couch beside Connor, pulling him in towards him. Nudging sumo out of the way causing him to grumble. “Today’s about you kid okay? Just relax.” Connor felt torn, he was curious about what was going on, and didn’t want to hold Hank back from anything. At the same time the idea of spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing was also tempting. He ran his hands through Sumo’s coarse fur thinking about it. 

“Okay...” The dog sensed his uneasiness, flipping around and beginning to lick connors fingers. He could practically fit his entire hand in Sumo’s huge cave of a mouth, but the immense amount of drooling didn’t even bother him in the slightest. 

Pulling his hand out from the dog, Connor inspected his hand visually. He couldn’t help himself and was curious about the statistics of Sumo’s health anyways. Before Hank could even recognise what he was doing, Connor had already shoved two fingers into his mouth.

*Running analysis*  
pH range of 8.5  
Calcium (mg/L)  
116.254  
40c -

“Jesus Christ Connor no! That’s disgusting” Hank audibly gagged at the sight, snatching his fingers from his mouth. He received an annoyed glare from Connor for interrupting his analysis.   
“Don’t give me that look, you don’t know where Sumo’s been”  
“That’s what I was tryin to find out.”   
“Jeez we need to get you something so you don’t keep licking everything in this goddamn house.” 

Grumbling Connor rolled onto his stomach, fingers skimming the floor in boredom. He was fully rested now and wide awake. Noticing his attitude Hank tried to think of ways to distract him, he didn’t want the topic of work coming back up. “Kid don’t you have that colouring book you bought a while back? Why don’t you go get that?”   
“Finished it.” 

“Jesus Christ that was quick.” Shifting off the couch Connor left the room quickly, having an idea. Rushing back from his bedroom he had a large book in his arms, then thumped it down onto the cushion. He flipped it open and pushed it into Hanks lap, leaning up against him to explain. “I don’t have that many colours but I tried my best to make them look nice” The pure innocence in his words made Hank smile, for the next few minutes they sat together flipping through the pages, Connor pointing at the dogs and listing their breeds name. 

“Chow chow, Bichon Frieze, bull mastiff...”  
All the pages were perfectly coloured in, making the pages stiff and shiny to the touch. Due to not having a variety of colours many of the dogs had very interesting colour combos. After turning the last page there was a large St Bernard coloured in meticulously in an array of colours. Pointing right into the middle of it, (as if Hank hadn’t already seen it) Connor was smiling.

“That’s my favourite! It’s Sumo you see? A St. Bernard!” Hank chuckles softly under his breath, it was incredibly endearing to watch him. Connor was so much happier and relaxed like this, after worrying about him for so long it was a weight had been lifted temporarily. Ever since the revolution Hank couldn’t help but feel as if he’d taken a parental role over Connor, finding himself worrying and being incredibly protective of him. 

At first he found it difficult, worried he was feeling like this to simply fill the empty void of where Cole to be. Connor wasn’t too similar with him, if Cole were still around he’d expect Connor to be a sort of big brother to him. But Connor was Connor, he wasn’t a replacement for Cole, he was unique in his own way. Jesus Christ, Hank Anderson, known for despising all androids ends up adopting one himself? How the tables truly turn huh. 

While thinking Hank didn’t notice Connor beginning to scramble around the couch desperately. “Where is he?” After skimming through the book he’d been reminded Connor of his new poodle, but where was he? He fell asleep with him didn’t he? He’d only had the poodle the day but he’d already formed a tight bond with him, the thought of him being gone was distressing.

“Where’s what?” Looking up as if Hank was crazy Connor explained the obvious. “My poodle! Fancypants.” It took Hank a good few seconds to understand what the fuck he just said. Then remembered shoving the horrendous sticky poodle into the washer. “Ahh that thing” 

Pushing away the colouring book balanced on his lap he pulled himself off the couch. Thankfully it was semi dry when he pulled it out of the washer, slightly damp and curls in weak corkscrews. Seeing it safe Connor visibly relaxed, being terrified he may have lost him forever. As soon as the poodle was placed back into his arms he tightly embraced it. He smelled softly of the fresh linen scented washing powder. “I don’t know how you can like that thing, it’s so ugly” Hank laughed at the end of his sentence, the thing was so damn hideous. 

“No he’s not! Apologise to him immediately!”   
Even when regressed Connor couldn’t help his polite mannerisms. He pushed the poodle with outstretched arms towards Hank, giving him an incredibly offended yet adorable pout. Lifting his hands in faux surrender Hank rolled his eyes while muffling a laugh.

“Okay, I’m sorry poodle”  
“Good! You hurt his feelings”   
Tucking him underneath his arm Connor learn against Hank once again. Nuzzling his head into his shoulder.   
“Can we watch another movie?”   
“Of course Con, you haven’t even seen most of the classics yet. “

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching old kids movies, Connor chewing on his poodles ear throughout. At around 10pm Connor had once again fallen asleep, Hank carrying him into his own bed and tucking him in.   
“Goodnight Con”  
A brief pause as Hank went to close the door.   
“Ni-night Dad.” 

-

Connor awoke the next morning, feeling far more relaxed and content that he had in a while. No longer feeling regressed he recounted the day before, apart from the hiccup in the morning he’d had a great time and had felt the happiest he had in while. Although he couldn’t help but feel slightly insecure about seeing Hank again after he’d been acting so immaturely, as well as returning to work and seeing his coworkers again. 

Hank was still asleep which wasn’t unusual, after letting Sumo outside he sat down on the couch, his laptop was sitting on the coffee table. After getting too creeped out by Connors blank stare as he browsed the internet in his own system, Hank pushed him into buying a laptop so he wouldn’t be so freaked out so often. Once buying it Connor managed to cybernetically sync his own program with it, so he’d be recommended articles and items to match his interests. 

Androids store all their memory and experiences in a hypothetical filing cabinet so to say, his system able to easily retrieve and analyse most past events. (Some may become corrupted due to low power or high stress levels)

Once opening his browser Connor couldn’t help but notice a small advertisement in the corner of the screen. It seemed that the events of the night before had affected his shopping recommendations. The array of soft colours drew him in, clicking on the advert without thinking. The website was specifically for others who also used regression as a coping mechanism, selling clothes, toys and accessories. So humans did this voluntarily for stress relief? The fact was slightly comforting to know that this wasn’t so bizarre and unheard of. 

The overwhelming amount and variety of things took a few minutes to grow accustomed to. Although not feeling small in any way Connor still couldn’t help the mild excitement in his chest as he saw things that peaked his interest. There was an abundance of clothing to browse through, made from a soft fabric to feel comfortable to the touch. A dark blue long romper patterned with stars caught his eye, the design was simple enough yet he impulsively added it to his cart. 

He spent the next fifteen minutes of the morning piling up his shopping cart, he hardly felt the need to buy many things for himself, apart from his past colouring book at least. He had enough money from his salary to spare and it felt nice to just splurge on such frivolous things.

“Having fun?”

A high shriek came from Connor and he slammed the laptop lid shut. He turned to the lieutenant behind him, who was currently standing in an old T-shirt eating a slice of burnt toast. “When did you?! Get here!?” Was all he could burble out, his face flushing dark blue. Hank laughed while taking another bite of his toast. “Been up for like five minutes, you were so busy you didn’t even notice me” 

Flustered and mortified Connor tried to choke out a response, the rational part of him knew Hank didn’t mind it whatsoever, yet being caught still felt embarrassing. “Warn me next time” it came out much harsher than he intended to. Getting up he tried to escape by going through into his room to dress but was stopped by hand grabbing him by the shoulder. “Look I know you’re finding it hard to believe, but it really doesn’t bother me okay?”   
Stopping briefly he thought about it hesitantly, It’s always better to be honest about things isn’t it? 

“I’m just worried, that perhaps you’re doing this because... you pity me? Or that you’re just saying that to not hurt my feelings” Connors hands shook lightly, he was scared of maybe his own concerns being correct. He avoided eye contact and glanced towards the floorboards. A hand gently pushed his chin up and towards the other, Hank had a sad yet confident smile.

 

“Connor I promise you kid, you’re not a burden on me, I’m not ashamed of you, I certainly don’t fucking pity you either. I don’t mind helping you out either, In fact I actually really enjoyed yesterday .” 

He pulled the Android into a quick embrace, Connor practically melting into it. “Okay, thank you...” while holding him he couldn’t help but remember what Connor called him the night before, in completely honesty it didn’t surprise him. He’d taken on the role of a dad to him anyways, he was curious though if he actually remembered or it was just the drunkenness of sleep talking. 

Patting his back firmly Hank let go and quickly downed the rest of his charred toast. “Don’t worry about it, now c’mon lets get going”

 

During the drive there Connor couldn’t help feel his anxiety increasing slightly again, he’d only been gone for over a day yet it’d felt like weeks since he’d last stepped into the precinct. He had his coin in his hand that Hank given him before they left, the small metal weight always seemed to ease his nerves. What if Gavin questioned him on what happened? What if he’d told everyone what he saw? He tried his best to try and reassure himself before they arrived, he had to be on top of his game today. After all with their sudden absence they had abandoned their current case! So busy in thought it wasn’t until the car stopped abruptly he even realised they’d arrived already.

Once they entered the building. Connor excused himself to visit the restroom. Splitting ways Hank made his way further inside.

“ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT! I GOD DAMN FUCKING REFUSE JEFFERY!” 

Immediately he took notice of Gavin and Jeffery having a heated screaming match in his office, he’d never seen Gavin look this pissed off before, it was pretty funny. At least he’d have Fowler off his ass for the time being while he was busy trying not to murder Gavin it seemed. Seconds later the door slammed open and shut, Reed’s face was dark red in white hot rage. Even Hank had the sense to not make a comment on it, knowing it’d probably result in a burst lip on his part. 

As he made his way over to his desk Hank spotted Connor over by the coffee lounge, that was damn quick. He didn’t even take in the change of clothes, more concerned as to how he somehow teleported across the precinct. “Connor! The fuck you doing over there?” Making his way over he was thumped him on the shoulder and the Android turned around, greeting Hank with a pair of baby blue eyes. 

“Ah you must be Lieutenant Anderson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more fluff and actual progress on the plot?! Unheard of. Also I bet yall weren’t expecting that weren’t yous, wasn’t gonna add him to the tags until now haha. Your last comments were so kind and really did make me so happy (and kinda emotional lol I’m sad) so please do leave one! It truly motivates me to write faster!


	13. Resentment

“What the fuck.”  
Hank genuinely considered the fact that this could just be a weird ass dream. Why was there a literal Connor clone standing across from him. The next few seconds were completely silent as the Android contemplated a response, LED flickering in thought. “I believe you must be incredibly confused Lieutenant, allow me to explain.” Still unable to comprehend what was happening Hank hardly even listened to what he was saying, instead noticing Fowler exit his office looking especially pissed. Shoving the Android away mid sentence he made a beeline towards him, was this what Jeffery meant over the phone?

“Mind telling me what the fuck is this?”  
Gesturing towards the dumbstruck Android behind him, Fowler pinched the bridge of his nose taking in a deep breath.  
“Just come with me Hank.” Turning on his heel he marched right back into his office, Hank followed close behind. 

-

Thankfully the bathroom was empty when Connor entered, he quickly washed up and caught glance of himself in the mirror as he cleaned his hands. His hair wasn’t combed and still on the curly side, as well as his tie being far too thin and long. Watering his hands he’s ran them through his hair quickly and did his best to straighten the tie, not wanting to look scruffy after taking the days off. Being in the bathroom made him feel slightly uneasy, the tiles which once had a pool of blue blood spilled over were now a pristine white colour. No traces of what happened whatsoever, he hoped that Gavin hadn’t shared what he’d seen. 

Just by luck he crossed paths with the man himself as he left the restroom, his face was a raging red shade and looked ready to strangle somebody. “What are you staring at you plastic prick!?” The utter malice in his tone surprised him, sure Gavin was a easily annoyed guy but something must of really shaken him up for him to be at that level. “Nothing Detective, are you alright-“  
They made brief eye contact for a second and the expression on Gavins face only contorted more in anger.  
“FUCK. YOU.”  
Shoved harshly aside Gavin made his way into the bathroom himself, muttering profanities under his breath. 

Eyes wide from the encounter Connor shook it off, he didn’t want any drama today, just to continue on with their case. Unfortunately fate truly did have it out harshly for him these past few days. Upon turning into the main office area he immediately caught sight of the figure by the coffee machine. Dark brown hair smartly styled back, a high white collared suit. With piercing light blue eyes locking with his own. 

RK900. 

-

“He arrived yesterday afternoon, saying he’d been released from cyberlife and he’d been programmed for detective work before the whole uprising shit. He was still in development when this was all going down, and by the new law as soon as they finished him he would have to be released as a free citizen.” 

“So why did he come here?”

“He’s a police android Hank, he knows nothing else. Hell he’s like a few weeks old for all I know. But from what I’ve seen Connor is a god damn good asset to our team, having another one could greatly benefit us.”

Hank sat and thought about it for a few seconds, Fowler indeed did have a point but it didn’t make the whole situation any less weird as hell. A question came to mind.  
“Wait a second, why was a second Connor even made?”  
Shrugging Fowler raised his hands cluelessly, frowning. 

“Do I look like a cyberlife employee? Hell if I know why they made another. Hence why I wanted to speak to Connor, he’ll probably know. I take it he’s well now correct?” 

“Ah yeah he’s good now, I think he’s in the restroom right now-“ The door suddenly opening took the pair off guard, Connor walked inside silently and sat down across from Fowler, his eyes closed momentarily. “Captain I’m incredibly sorry if I’ve been working unsatisfactory recently, if you’ll please reconsider I promise I will work harder and-“

Both Hank and Jeffery were completely baffled, what the hell was he on about?  
“Connor shut the fuck up okay.” Fowler’s firm tone immediately silenced Connor, who currently looked pale and devastated. “What are you talking about? You’re suddenly acting like I’m firing you?”

“You’re not replacing me?” 

The question caused both the older men to begin laughing at the poor misunderstood Android, Connor now was the one incredibly confused. “No? Connor this duplicate just showed up outta nowhere, what’s the point of replacing you when we could just use this to our own advantage?” 

Connors LED spun bright yellow, this didn’t make any sense? Don’t they understand that he’s useless in comparison? “I don’t understand” 

“Connor what don’t you understand?”

“RK900 was specifically created as a more advanced model to replace me. I’m a prototype remember? I’m completely useless in comparison!”  
The outburst once again silenced the two, Fowler had never in his days seen Connor so emotive? Hank looked equally concerned, turning towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder, he was obviously distressed by what he’d just encountered.  
“Connor, what else do you know about this thing?” 

-  
A sharp blinding light is what woke Connor from his stasis, a tall woman in an equally harsh white coat was opposite him looking slightly irritated. “Cmon, I don’t have all day here.” Blinking a few times he recounted on why he was here, after a simple evaluation he remembered. Of course yes, he had just undergone the update of more Human functions. 

At the tips of his fingers he felt a subtle tingling sensation, placing his hand onto the table he was resting on he truly felt the cool smooth texture, making him shiver. It was extraordinary. The woman clicked her fingers in front of his face, catching his attention again. “You’ll have all the time in the world now to adjust to how you’re feeling, follow me. We need to test the affects.” 

Following her down a corridor she led him into a lab area, motioning him to sit down onto a elevated chair. For the next few minutes she monitored him to see if the update was a success, testing his temperature sensitivity and digestive system for any anomalies. Once she’d given him the all clear on those effects she reached into a drawer for the final test.

“What is that?”  
She was holding a small metal cylinder, with a push down button on the top base. “You’ll see in a second if this has worked”  
Placing the cylinder against the skin of his forearm she suddenly applied pressure to the head and forced it down. The sensation Connor felt was something he had never experienced in his time alive, a searing raw strike emanated from his hand as soon as she pressed the button. Instinctively he yelped and pulled his arm towards his chest, sucking through his teeth. 

“What the...”  
Blue blood was trickling down his forearm onto his hand from small wound around a centimetre wide. A throbbing feeling from his entire arm surged horribly, he felt hot tears threaten to rise in reaction. Blinking them away he glared harshly at the woman across, she had just assaulted him! She huffed in response. 

“Well looks like the update was a success, why you would want to be able to feel pain is beyond me.” So that was it, pain. He decided immediately that he definitely didn’t like the feeling at all, he worried for future missions, he’d usually be able to handle physical superficial damage with no difficulty at all, now he would have to be much more careful. 

Pushing her glasses further up to the bridge of her nose she gestured towards the door, eager for him to leave. “You’re done. I assume you know the way out, elevator is at the end of the hall.” Nodding in response Connor made his way out hastily, not wanting to be around her just as much as she did with him probably. After being shooed away he was stopped by another cyberlife worker before he could reach the elevator.

“RK800, Connor.” 

A middle aged woman stood before him, her hair was tied up away from her face extenuating her pinched face. She had glassy threatening amber eyes, looking as if she’d just spotted her prey. 

*Running Scan*  
NAME: Rhiannon Yang  
AGE: 44 years  
OCCUPATION: Cyberlife Executive 

“I was hoping to find you, come with me.” 

He hesitated at first, he was not informed of any meeting with whoever this was, he wasn’t a machine anymore and didn’t have to take tasks from cyberlife anymore. But her firm order intimidated him , as much as he wasn’t sure about following her he felt as if he had to. 

“What are you still standing there for? Move it” 

Without a second more he jumped and began following her, she walked quickly and curtly, what was she wanting with him? After a few minutes in silence as they descended through Cyberlife’s many floors he had the courage to question her. “What do you want with me?”  
She only responded with a sly smirk and a chuckle, she then opened a door into another room and ushered Connor inside. 

It was a pristine white Android workshop per say, equipment and intensely detailed diagrams of androids covered the walls. Connor was still confused, why was he here? With her heels clicking against the linoleum flooring she walked ahead and stopped, glancing at a glass case, the light from his position making whatever inside invisible.  
“I wanted to show you something Connor.”  
She turned her head towards him sharply.  
“It was a huge mistake to ever release a prototype for such an important task” 

Her words stung. Her cold attitude reminded him of Amanda slightly, which only made him more apprehensive towards this situation. “I think I should leave now, I don’t exactly feel comforta-“  
Halfway through speaking Rhiannon placed her hand against a pad on the side of coffin like case, the opaque glass suddenly fading into transparency. The inside stopping Connor in his tracks. 

A complete copy of himself stood inside, it was wearing a different uniform, but was a complete duplicate of himself in every way. It’s eyes were closed as if in stasis, looking oddly peaceful. 

RK900

He stood completely frozen, eyed glued to what he was being shown. He didn’t understand.  
“If things had gone to plan perhaps we could have made use of this magnificent machine, designed with the same features with you Connor, but improved in every possible way. A state of the art detective Android, even if you tried there isn’t enough data in your code to ever surpass it.” 

She was very obviously trying to make Connor as uncomfortable as possible, and it was working brilliantly. “I don’t understand, why are you showing me this...?” She took in immense pleasure watching the look on his face, shock, confusion and a hint of fear it looked. Even for an advanced machine he was an idiot for not putting the pieces together.  
“We has planned to permanently deactivate you after your mission, you were simply a test to see if our magnum opus would be successful.” 

Suddenly her body language shifted to one of resentment and fury.  
“And you failed. You ruined all of our hard work. My years of study and labour, all for fucking nothing. Now cyberlife will most likely fall apart and cease to be. All because of you.” Her eyes seemed to burn through his own, emotions of raw rage and hate. She had obviously worked her life into this, by him doing the right thing by assisting in the revolution, he’d also destroyed most likely many peoples careers/lives.

“I’m telling you this because I want you to know what you’ve done, the consequences of your actions. You think you’re so high and mighty, but in end you’re still a stone cold machine, just as we created you.” 

Each word hurt more and more, stabbing deeper into him. It felt worse than the test jab he’d experienced many minutes before.  
“I’m so...sorry, I never mean-“  
With a disgusted sneer she turned away from him, placing a hand onto the cool glass holding the stone cold Android.  
“I don’t need your synthetic pity. Now if you’ll excuse me, I plan to complete what I started.” 

Her final words confused him, what did she mean by complete? He briefly considered asking just that but sided against it, her attitude giving him the obvious signal to leave, now. Leaving without another word he felt incredibly shaken. All she was indeed true, he failed the mission, he had played a significant part in the revolutions success. And by doing so he’d also caused so much grief. He didn’t often think about how he was simply “the prototype” After deviancy he learned to see himself as his own being, yet he wasn’t his own being, he wasn’t unique. There was a entire copy of himself built to do the exact same but better. He was completely useless in comparison. The realisation hit hard. Very hard. 

 

When he arrived back at Hanks home he immediately picked up on connors mood and questioned him. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want anyone knowing about what had happened. He felt too ashamed. He spent the rest of the day lying in his room staring towards the ceiling, occasionally rubbing his now throbbing arm. Even when he willed himself into a sleep mode stasis he could still feel her hated filled amber eyes glaring through him. 

 

*Mission Failure*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a kind of plot/backstory chapter! I wanted to go into more detail about how emotional damaged and scarred Connor is, as well as the fact that as good as the revolution is it must of really fucked up some peoples lives. Rhiannon isn’t meant to be a “bad nasty” character, she isn’t really. If you think from her point of view it’s kinda understandable her opinion on Connor. What’d you guys think? Go leave a comment telling me! Or maybe leave a cheeky kudos too   
> X


	14. Affiliation

It took a few minutes for Connor to fully explain his experience at cyberlife regarding the RK900, although leaving out the mundane details and not going too much into what Rhiannon had said to him. Throughout surprisingly both Captain and Lieutenant kept their mouths shut and let him talk, only once he’d finished they spoke.   
“So this RK900 guy, was supposed to replace you pretty much?”  
Stiffly nodding Connor confirmed his question. “Yes, after all I was only the prototype.” His voice fell as he said it, thinking of how truly pathetic he was in comparison. 

Clearing his throat Fowler reached for a stack of papers and straightened them against the table awkwardly.  
“Well that definitely answers a lot of my questions, I’ve assigned him a trial course. If he’s successful I’ll employ him as a permanent member, just so long he survives it really.”   
“Did you not hear what I said Captain? There’s no doubt he’ll fail any mission.” Connors voice was once again slightly fallen with a hint of spite. 

“I know Connor, it’s him and Reed I’m worried about.”  
Hank frowned in obvious confusion. “What has Reed got to do with any of this?”  
Groaning loudly his head fell into his hands stressing. As if saying it out loud would seal his fate. “Chris has been temporarily transferred to go to some training course shit. In the mean time Gavin needs a partner for outside work. There was no one else available until Connor 2.0 walked in yesterday. 

Both Hank and Connor were stunned in silence for a few seconds before taking in the information. Until a huge roar of laughter bellowed from Hank, who was smacking the table in hysterics. 

“THAT FUCKING PRICK! FINALLY HAS WHATS COMING FOR HIM.” Tears prickled the corners of his eyes in petty joy. He had no ounce of sympathy for Gavin, but at least he knew the reason as to why he was so pissed earlier. Fowler however couldn’t find the situation humorous, he didn’t have the patience for Gavins temper tantrums. The shrill ring of Fowler’s cellphone caught everyone’s attention, himself quickly answering.  
“Hello, Detroit Police Department, Captain Fowler speaking” he quickly made a sharp shooing motion to the pair, he wanted some peace anyways.

As they returned to their desks Hank still couldn’t help the odd snigger upon thinking about Gavins situation, bastard deserved it and perhaps it’s maybe improve his opinion on androids as a whole. Connor on the other hand was very quiet, the morning had been incredibly eventful and he was having trouble processing everything, LED swirling yellow. A few minutes passed of average desk work, Hank sitting at his computer screen mumbling obscenities whole Connor tried his bed to concentrate. 

So lost in thought Connor didn’t even notice the figure approaching him, softly clearing their throat to gain his attention.   
“Connor? Isn’t it? May I speak with you someplace private?”   
The RK900 stood above him, looking slightly uncomfortable maybe? Connor glanced towards Hank silently pleading the man to just tell the other Android to fuck off. But Hank simply shrugged helplessly and returned back to his screen. 

“That... shouldn’t be a problem.” Slowly he rose from his seat and followed the doppelgänger through the precinct. He lead Connor into the coffee lounge, sitting down at a spare table, Connor then doing the same. It was incredibly surreal to be faced with an exact copy of yourself, yet the difference in eye colour made the exchange slightly unsettling. 

“Connor, I feel as if my presence makes you slightly uncomfortable”

“Why would you think that?”

“Your elevated thirium pump rate, and restless body language suggest you’re feeling uncomfortable, as well as you’re diverting eye contact ” 

Just from glancing at him he could tell that? There was no point in trying to feign ignorance, he could obviously see right through him with ease. He was an advanced detective Android, he must have a variety of skills programmed into his system for interrogation work.   
“I won’t lie, your sudden arrival has unsettled me slightly. Don’t take it personally, I just wasn’t expecting this today.” 

“That’s understandable, to be completely honest I’m also feeling quite unsettled, everything is so new to me.”

Although the stone cold exterior, he seemed very uncomfortable, slightly overwhelmed to say. But Connor couldn’t help the question on his mind.  
“So... are you deviant?”

RK900 closed his eyes temporarily, LED flickering. “Yes. After I was released I was told to visit Jericho to be deviated. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least. I was specifically programmed to combat deviancy as a whole, it was successful at least” 

“I’m sorry to hear that... uh?” Was he supposed to just call him RK900 this whole time? The other picked up on the hesitation and quickly understood his confusion. “Ah my apologies, although I was simply assigned the model of RK900, I recall some of the employees at Cyberlife label me Conan.” 

Conan awkwardly offered his hand to Connor, not wanting there to be any petty rivalry between the pair. Finally making the eye contact Connor returned the firm shake. “I’m glad to meet you Conan.”   
The conversation went on for a few more minutes, the pair discussing deviancy and plans for the future, the two couldn’t help enjoying each others company and it felt as if they’d known each-other for years.

Their conversation was interrupted when Gavin Reed entered, his face still red and furious. He didn’t even notice the pair and went straight to the coffee machine, stabbing the buttons violently. Once a cup was in his hand he turned on his heel and met eyes with the two androids, a disgusted look crossing him. He turned to Conan especially glaring. 

“Alright you piece of shit, if we have to work together you have to listen and do as I fuckin say.” 

Conan stood up slowly, making direct eye contact with him. He was much taller and towered over the detective, and had suddenly taken on a very sinister aura. The precinct had gone silent, other officers stopping or peering over their desks to spectate what was about to happen. 

“Under the new Android bill of rights you’re in no position to order me detective, we were assigned to be partners, so I would appreciate it if you treated me as such.” 

“Don’t you fucking talk to me like that you piece of plastic shit! You think you’re so much better than everyone else don’t you think?“

As Gavin spoke he shoved Conan into the wall behind, he wasn’t going to take shit off an Android. The shove had left little to no damage on him, he simply took a step forward towards Gavin once he’d regained balance. Without warning he used incredible strength as retaliated by grabbing Gavin by the shoulder and slamming him arm into the wall, holding his arms behind his back painfully. 

“I believe if we are to have a successful partnership we will have to work in unity. And I will not stand being insulted and pushed around by an arrogant delinquent who chooses to tantrum when he does not get his way.” Connor could hardly pick up on what he was saying, Conan muttering his words into Gavins ear ending it with a sly smile. 

He had taken on an entirely different body language, the slightly awkward formal Conan he’d just talked with had completely disappeared. Connor felt himself feel intimidated even though it wasn’t even him being chastised, Conan definitely had an extremely aggressive and dominant attitude to him. He would probably do very well in interrogating suspects. 

Conan had him in an iron grip, pinning him against the wall, coffee had spilled across the floor. “Fuck you”   
Gavin only made it worse for himself, earning himself another slam harder into the wall, hitting his nose this time. “Have I made myself clear Detective Reed” 

Groaning in pain he finally admitted defeat, something Gavin had never ever done at his time working there. “Yeah sure, just let me the fuck go now okay?!” 

As soon as the words left his mouth Conan released him and threw Gavin to the side. He was grimacing while holding his face, yet looked up and made eye contact with the other android. He paused just staring at him for a few moments, was he impressed? Conan had said nothing in reply yet, him too staring down the detective. 

“Well get a move on, I have shit to get done.”

The entire precinct was still in stunned silence, no one had ever been able to get Gavin to actually shut his face before, this guy was good. Conan nodded at Connor before following, “Sorry to cut our talk short Connor, I will see you again later.” Connor just as stunned as the rest simply mumbled out “see you” as he walked away. That was definitely something. 

 

After all the commotion died down everyone returned to their work, Connor feeling especially rattled by the experience. “Jesus fucking Christ I’ve never seen Reed like that, it was amazing seeing that prick finally getting his karma.” Hank chuckled as he worked. “How’d things go with your twin? Is he an asshole?”

“Better than expected, he’s still adjusting to deviancy and is a little mechanical but I’d assume over time he’ll get the hang of it. I enjoyed talking with him.”

Hank rolled his eyes towards Connor, still tapping away. “That’s rich of you to say kid, cause you’re just an example of deviancy yourself.” 

With an annoyed smile Connor picked up a ball of scrunched up paper from a basket and threw it perfectly towards Hanks forehead. “Shut up”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arghhhhh I’m so sorry for the long wait and really short chapter. I really just needed to make a fillerly chapter to introduce Conan and other stuff. (Sorry nines fans) pretty much now with this chapter over I’m thinking of moving this fix to less of a constant over arching plot of you get me? So next chapter won’t be taking place immediately after this, there’ll be some brief time skips just so we don’t need fillery chapters like this. Feel free to leave any comments with suggestions by the way! I’ve been working really hard for my portfolio this October as well so that’s been eating up my time, I promise faster updates from further on!


	15. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR HEAVY GORE CRIME SCENE DESCRIPTIONS AND NIGHTMARES!   
> -  
> If you want just the fluffy stuff feel free to skip past it x

This case was particularly intense to say the least. It was late at night and they were called in off-shift due to the severity of the case. Hank was drowsy as he drove towards the address Connor had told him, he was just about asleep when Connor had knocked on his door informing him of the emergency case. Normally he would have just told the department to fuck off and wait until morning, but when Connor gave him brief details the pure extremity of it intrigued him enough to get up. 

Connor himself was also very very tired, he hadn’t sufficiently rested the night before and was running on a dwindling on incredibly low power, his LED staying at a slow pulsing yellow. He was desperately hoping it wouldn’t take too long, but as long as he remained calm and didn’t push himself he should be able to last the time. Every so often he’d rest his eyes and lean against the car window, only to be jolted out of his trance whenever the old car would go over speed bump or pothole. It only took around twenty minutes of driving for them to arrive, and honestly Connor was dreading it, from the details he received it had made his internal system churn. 

-

As soon as he stepped inside the intense scent of chemicals and metal hit the pair. The house was pitch dark, only able to make out murky shapes at first. Connor took a step forward and felt for the light switch in the nearest room, feeling what he assumed was a light fixture brush against him. Harsh white light illuminated a disgusting display. Dismembered androids hung from the ceiling, arms dangling down. Their heads were completely gone, obviously ripped out with some force. It was a kitchen, sharp utensils littered across the table top, both blue and red blood filling the sink, making it a sick aubergine colour. In the corner sat another table and chairs, headless and partially headless android corpses sitting around it as if some sick child’s tea party. The walls were a brownish yellow with grime and age, but to Connor he could see the now evaporated thirium splattered across the room.

It wasn’t until Hank shook him by the shoulder lightly Connor finally came back to reality, he’d apparently been standing there just staring blankly for a few seconds. Briefly bringing a hand to his forehead to steady himself he pushed himself forward to start investigating.   
“Look Connor, this is a bit too much. Even for me, lets leave this room to the other guys, all they really need you to do is analyse some evidence or some shit and we can get the hell out of here”

Connor wanted nothing more than to get out of that hell room as soon as possible, yet he couldn’t. This is what he was made for and he could handle it. Ignoring Hank completely he stepped further in and began a visual analysis of the room, searching for any evidence of the killer.   
“Suit yourself then asshole” Hank made a sharp exit and went to go talk to the witness who reported it in. 

Connor reached forward to examine the table, making sure not to go too near the static corpses. He had made the assumption that there was no possible way any Android could still be alive in the conditions he saw, oh was he wrong. As soon as he pressed a hand on the table to check for fingerprints he suddenly had a stone cold grip around his wrist, following the arm up he saw one of the partially headless dark bronze decaying Androids, it only had its lower jaw still connected weakly to its neck. So broken and grimy he couldn’t even recognise their model, type or gender. No coherent words came out of it just crackling glitchy screams of agony. Weak sparks sprayed from its lower mouth, whatever thirium it had left in its system regurgitating out.

In reflex Connor flinched back and tried to slip out of the iron grip, but the Android only clung harder. Which ended up with him pulling the Android from out its chair and loosing balance falling onto his back. The half dead android laying on top of him, it’s face spraying more thirium into his face. He couldn’t help the shriek of terror that escaped him, he could feel its rusting mouth scraping against his own, as it screamed violently at him. Connor couldn’t get up no matter how much he willed his program to do so, twitching away and trying everything to stand up and throw it off him. The realisation that he’d reached lowest percentage in battery was horrific, he was conscious enough to look around and be aware of his surroundings but was limp in his legs and arms, no strength at all. Weakly and slowly it rose up and looked down on him, he could hear its system whirring desperately fast as it could. It was in such a decrepit state it couldn’t possibly speak, but a string of letters managed to escape. A very obvious robotic text to speech voice.   
“ W..... I.....L....S....O.....N...... U-“   
Was all it choked out, as if every letter was corrupting it more. Before falling back onto Connor with dead weight, finally perishing. It felt as if he’d been lying there for hours with it rooted on top of his body, but very shortly after he first shouted Hank had ran through to see what happened. 

Connor was trying his hardest to wriggle out from underneath it but simply had no energy to do so, only weak movements. It was horrific.   
“JESUS FUCK!”   
Hank quickly kicked the Android corpse off of Connor, shooting it in the back for good measure. Turning around he saw Connor also looking half dead struggling to get up. “What happened to you? Did it damage you or something?” He leant out his hand to pull him up but Connors grip was far to weak to support himself back up again. 

“low charge. Power down imminent in 56 seconds. I’m okay”   
Kneeling down Hank helped him lift to his feet, supporting all his weight as his legs barely kept balance.   
“Jeez I knew coming to this was a bad idea, let’s get you back to the house”   
Just as Connor was about to nod he suddenly remembered the androids message. “Wait! No... Android spoke to me.” He could hear his voice buffering and glitching as he was nearing a power down. 

“How? What’d it say?”

“The Android gave me a name... Wilson U that was all I got before it shut down.“  
Still shaken and tired he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back into his head before passing out in Hanks grip from the exhaustion. Everything faded to black. 

-  
The sound of rain softly tapping on a window was what Connor awoke to. He could see Hank beside him, driving. Why had they left the scene? What happened? Flashes of memory cycled back in, a shiver sent down his spine as he remembered the thing that attacked him, that room. 

“Hank... why did we leave?”

“You passed out after that corpse thing attacked you. Why didn’t you tell me you were low on charge?” 

Speaking of low charge, Hanks words sounded fuzzy and distant. The short rest he had in the car so far had only restored around five percent of his power drive. 

“M’sorry. Wait! Did you solve what happened?”

“Yeah they’re handling it, thanks to you telling us that name, investigators already got three potential suspects. Now get back to sleep, you look like you’re about to pass out again. You did good kid”

That’s all Connor needed to hear, not even bothering to respond. Just falling back into a deep stasis.

-

Everything was dark, too dark. Connor was positive his eyes were open, yet he couldn’t see anything in front of him. Hesitantly he took a step forward, feeling something slightly soft but firm underneath. Foot pressing into it but not through it, very unpleasant. 

It was incredibly disorienting, not being able to see anything or hear anything. Connor tried walking further forward but whatever he was standing on broke underneath his weight, making a horrific crunching noise. The jolt of movement caused him to fall forward onto his face, intense pain pulsing to his nose. 

Finally a dull light entered whatever place he was in, seemingly from nowhere. Only then did he realise what he had been standing on. Hundreds upon thousands of rotting Android corpses for as far as the eye could see. Looking down he saw that his foot had broken through an androids chest cavity, causing him the fall just moments before. Immense fear and panic flooded through him, yet there seemed no escape and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t unlock his foot from its chest. 

Whimpering he tried harder and his foot broke free, bursting its body further repulsing him. Maybe there was a way out, there needed to find a door or a wall somewhere. Chest pounding he regained his balance and began running as fast as he could, which proved incredibly difficult as he kept tripping and losing balance on seemingly never ending corpses. Slowly his run turned into a crawl, he was slowing down with no exit in sight. All of a sudden the pile of corpses around him began to loosen and twitch, finding himself sinking through them while hands broke free and held an iron grip around his legs.   
“NO! Get off me!”  
He was being pulled in, moaning and screaming was all he could hear, it was getting harder and harder to struggle and move, they were going to kill him, he didn’t want to to die. Unable to fight back he saw one last glimpse of the ceiling above before he was entirely enveloped by them, scratching and pulling him. Everything went dark...

-

In an instant Connor was pulled out of whatever hell he was in, sitting up realising he was simply home and in his bedroom. He felt horribly cold and shivery, breathing rapidly with only his red LED lighting up the room sinisterly. After a few seconds he realised that he’d woken feeling incredibly small and vulnerable, of course it had to be when he’d just had an awful night terror. Instinctively he looked around panicking, his fluffy poodle companion seemed nowhere to be found. He was trying so hard to not lose himself completely and keep cool, after all it was only a nightmare, what he’d seen was fictitious. But it wasn’t really, he really had been attacked earlier, and on the news a few days prior there had been a feature on the colossal Android dumping grounds. Thousands of androids stripped down in camps to be deactivated. He couldn’t watch it and ended up turning off the television. 

Tears made their way to the surface, spilling over quickly. It was too dark, the red light made the dark room even scarier than it would be if it was just pitch black, and he didn’t even have Fancypants with him. He briefly thought about waking Hank up but he himself must be really tired too, and the idea of making his way through the dark how by himself wasn’t appealing. Hank told him about deep breathing to calm down but he couldn’t focus hard enough, doing the opposite and hyperventilating. The door began to rattle but not open, scaring him even more. 

STRESS LEVELS RISING 75%

-

Sumo whimpered loudly at the end of Hanks bed, he’d woken up to hear crying and couldn’t nudge open Connors door to get in. Leaping onto the bed he pressed his wet face against Hanks bristly one. “Sumo cmon... l’take you out later...”  
Hank gently pushed Sumos face away, hoping to catch a few more hours sleep. Sumo however was having none of this and barked sharply into his ear.   
Flinching from the noise Hank finally sat up and glared at the large dog, as if somehow expecting an explanation.   
“It’s fuckin 4 in the morning what do you want-“

Hank was cut off by the muffled sound of what he assumed was crying from outside his room. Oh shit. Sumo whimpered again, still trying to tell his master although he’d already figured it out himself. “Good boy”   
A quick scratch behind the ear contented him, huffing satisfyingly and curling up to sleep while Hank pulled on an old bathrobe before leaving him.

Curled up at the top of the bed Connor was scared out of his mind, waking up from a nightmare was already terrible, but he’d never woken up while in headspace before and it made this ten times worse. Footsteps echoed from outside the room and the door clicked open, in the small rational part of his mind he knew it’d be Hank right? But all he could think of was what if it was another headless Android making its way back to take revenge on him? Frightening himself into a fit of panicked sobs he wrapped his arms around his head and torso, the only form of protection he could think of. 

Hank felt his heart break slightly when he realised what had happened, Hell the scene earlier even made him feel nauseous, it must have had an even worse effect on Connor. It was obvious just by looking at him he’d woken up regressed, and to wake up to what he assumed a nightmare as well was even tougher. Cole used to get lots of night terrors after his mother left, so at least Hank had some experience in how to comfort him. 

A firm embrace wrapped around Connor, not fast and aggressive, just strong but securing. He melted into his arms, continuing to try cry it out of his system. Without thinking he grasped onto the front of Hanks old soft shirt, skin peeling back and revealing the white plastic underneath. Although androids and humans had no way of interfacing, it was still comforting to do so. 

“Nightmare kiddo?”

Unable to form a verbal response he just nodded harshly, folding himself further into his arms, the sobs wracking his body in harsh hiccups. Placing the back of his hand on Connors back he rubbed soothing circles into it, “breathe Connor, in and out.” Hank paused for second, thinking.  
“You’re okay, dad’s here”

It was painful to do so, each breath in and out was agonising at first, but after a few minutes the panic attacks spike had lessened. Hank noticed the ugly poodle lying on the floor next to the bed, on it’s back legs facing up, must have been thrown out of bed when he was dreaming. “Hey connor look what I’ve got”  
Fresh tears spilled over upon seeing his fluffy companion again, as he gently took it away from hank and buried it into his chest, continuing to dampen Hanks shirt with tears.

Very gently Hank scooped Connor up into his arms, holding him close. As he adjusted his hand to support him underneath he felt his sweatpants were soaked. Stopping momentarily realising the predicament, at the same time did Connor as he began to cry again burying his face into his shoulder mumbling apologises. He only felt even more sorry for the him now. “Hey hey, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get you freshened up okay.” 

Moving through into the bathroom Hank reluctantly placed Connor down, as he went to fill up the tub. Connor sat knees up to his chest on the closed down toilet seat, letting tears soak into fancypants’ fur. He was so mortified at the situation but still felt so on edge and terrified, Hank had made it better but he still felt as if one of those mutants were going to crawl inside and get him. He sat there shivering, the now cold wetness making it worse.   
Once the tub was full Hank got up and went to the door, “I’m gonna go and clean up okay? I added that weird bubble bath thing you like so much-“

Just as he was about to open the door he felt a hand pulling on his shirt, Connor still had his face hidden in his chest and was quivering lightly.   
“Please... don’t leave..”  
Sighing softly, Hank reversed and knelt down to Connors level sitting down, ruffling his hair. “Okay I’ll stay”

Once manoeuvring Connor out from his clothes he very quickly hopped in the bathtub bashfully. He knew he was being so irrational and ridiculous but the overwhelming fear of being alone was too strong. “I’m..sorry.” was all he could choke out.  
Frowning sadly Hank moved over to him and gently began to massage his scalp, using his hand to scoop up water and wash it. He had no idea if androids even needed to wash their hair, but it always relaxed Cole. “Don’t apologise, you had a nightmare, hell I’m surprised I didn’t have one after what we saw. Especially with what happened to you bud. We’ve got tomorrow off, so we can just relax okay?” 

The idea of heading back to work after all this was something Connor had been dreading, so the news was comforting. “Why am I still scared though... it’s over now?” It was frustrating, the nightmare was a fictional amalgamation of what he’d experienced before, Hank had shot the mutant Android dead and whoever did it all was most likely going to be caught soon. So why was he still so scared?

“S’called trauma kid. Part of becoming human I guess, hell you should’ve seen me on my first bad murder scene. Saw the body and ran outside to puke soon as. I’ve seen so much worse now but still thinking back to that first time I still get chills” The explanation helped slightly, he wanted to think harder about why it was bothering him so much but the fuzziness in his head was blurring over again, ending up just hmming in response. He didn’t realise time was passing by, the sound of the plug being pulling out woke him up from his daze. He was still so tired and hadn’t been able to fully recharge once again. A large fluffy towel was wrapped around him as he pulled himself out of the bath, his eyelids fluttering. The towel was warm and soft, fresh out of the dryer, he couldn’t help pulling it tighter around and nuzzling into it. 

“I’ll be right back okay Connor I promise. I’m gonna go grab something.”

Connor only nodded reluctantly in response, speaking seemed to be too much effort with how tired he was. He counted the seconds he was gone, holding him to his promise. 25 seconds later Hank came back into the bathroom, holding a cardboard package that he immediately recognised.

“I noticed some of your things arrived, I understand if you’re not comfortable though. Just thought you might want the extra comfort tonight”

When the package arrived a few days prior Connor immediately had rushed into his room to open it, he couldn’t help but feel excited to use them the next time he felt regressed. Sitting on the floor he politely took the box from Hank silently, opening it up and rummaging through. He’d bought a few more stuffed animals, colouring books and other things. First he pulled out a soft long dark blue romper, the gold stars made from a shiny Lycra. Lifting it up to his chest he pushed it towards Hank, he was too tired to put it on himself. 

“Nice colour choice, like the stars.” 

-

The fabric was incredibly warm and comfortable against his skin, just being in it made him feel sleepier. His eyes kept closing for a few seconds before snapping open again with a jolt. He leant against Hanks chest wanting to sleep right there on the bathroom floor, thumb drifting up to his mouth. Before he could he felt Hank pull it away, he’d picked up something from the box, replacing it with his thumb. It was a dark blue pacifier, the one item Connor still felt self conscious about buying, but the feeling of chewing or just having something in his mouth was oddly soothing so he’d given into it at the time. 

He momentarily hesitated, the final big part of his brain protesting. “It’s okay kid, you can have it. I’d rather that than you chewing your fingers or anything else in the house”   
That was all he needed, picking it up and placing it between his lips. It was indeed a very comforting feeling, the motion slightly rhythmic. He was incredibly low charge now, a dwindling 4%. He completely went slack and only had enough strength to cling onto Hanks body with his head resting on his shoulder. “Ti-red...”

“I can see that Con, let’s get you to bed.” He’d gotten used to carrying him now, it no longer felt as painful to his back at least. Originally he was planning on stripping the bed and putting back in his own room but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Fuck it, let the kid have some comfort. Connor was slightly confused when they passed by his bedroom, where were they going? Hank turned into his own bedroom, peeling Connor off of him onto the bed. “Only for tonight okay?”

Hanks bed was much larger as it was a king size, also much comfier. Sumo aware of the addition to the bed slowly moved up to lie down next to Connor, cosying into the crook of his knees. Hank quickly followed suit, himself also exhausted from the night and fell onto the bed with a thud, leaving on his bedside lamp just in case for Connor. Reaching over he softly ruffled the androids damp hair, “g’night kiddo, sweet dreams” 

But he’d already passed out, lying on his back with all his limbs spread out, somehow taking up most of the bed. Smiling, Hank joined him soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry for the huge wait for this. My depression has been pretty nasty and I didn’t want to force myself, so at some points I was only writing like fifty words a day. I originally planned for this to come out for Halloween hahaha. But hey this is the longest chapter I’ve ever written so... yay! Lots of fluffy aftercare and self indulgence here. Also just a reminder to readers and stuff! This is NOT a kink fic whatsoever, so please do not associate it with things like that. It’s sinply a coping/comfort for myself I decided to share with you guys. Please tell me what you think or leave any suggestions for future chapters in the comments!!!
> 
> xxx


	16. Burnout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Self care yall

A small crack of light spilled through the curtains, catching Connor in the eye as he woke. He stayed in that sweet limbo of consciousness and sleep for a few minutes, lazily glancing around Hanks bedroom. His awareness began to boot up, recollections of the night before passing by. Hank had let him sleep in his bed after his nightmare, and he’d slipped into a heavy headspace. The pacifier still settled between his lips being an obvious reminder. 

It was a new day and they had the day off, he was all wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets, very much content and happy to snooze for a bit longer... 

OBJECTIVE: GET READY FOR THE DAY

Groaning softly he hit his head as if that would make the notification somehow go away, even though he’d deviated he would still get things like this. He wanted to snuggle up and sleep some more but there was a nagging pain in the back of his head, his older headspace fighting for control and wanting to snap out of it. After a few more minutes he gave in, maybe if he got up anyway he’d slip out. 

Shifting off of the bed Connor hesitated as he reached up to pull the comfort item out. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt right? He was still slightly groggy from sleep too. Hank was still passed out on the bed, of course, it’d been a hectic night for him too. As quietly as he could he snuck out of the room, Sumo following suit. It was too much effort to run a scan of what time it was, instead Connor just glanced at the clock in the hallway. 

8:36 AM 

Early but late by his standards usually, hopefully the extra rest may have done him good at least . Normally in the mornings he’d do any chores that needed done and get dressed. He crept into his own bedroom, frowning at the state he left it during the night, the quilt had been all rumpled and pillows thrown to the ground. As well as the obvious stain on the bedsheets making him flush. A cold chill breeze passed as he stood up to pull the soiled sheets off, it made him want to crawl back into bed with Hank where it was all warm and cosy... but no! He had responsibilities to do. He had his time to slip down last night and relax, now he had to face the consequences of his immaturity and clean up, as irritable as it made him feel.

Taking off the sheets was easy enough, simply unhooking them off each corner and dropping the pile onto the floor for now. Putting on the fresh one was the challenge. He sat on the mattress, trying to pull each corner over only to have it spring loose again from the opposite side. The quilt had been thrown onto the floor and upon looking up now his room just looked even worse than before. Why couldn’t he get this stupid sheet to get on!? Trying one more time and failing he frustratedly threw the sheet onto the floor, stamping away out his room. He’d do it later. 

The cold chill of the house eerily reminded him of the night before and the horrific night terror he’d had. The crunching noises and feeling of cold hands around his ankles returned momentarily and he flinched. He really wanted to go back into bed even more now, the house was chillingly quiet and still slightly dark from from the very little morning light. 

While passing himself in the mirror he took note of his appearance. Hair curly and fluffed up, childish pyjamas and a pacifier in mouth with his arms wrapped around himself. How could he think he could get ready for the day like this? He looked ridiculous and couldn’t slack off on his daily responsibilities simply because of his emotions. Reluctantly he pulled it from his mouth, wiping it against the fabric before throwing it down to the floor as if it had burned him. Immediately regretting said decision as soon as he did it, looking down to see where it had fallen, but it seemed to have got out of sight from the force of the throw. Anxiety swirled in him, he really really wished he hadn’t done that now. 

Sumo distantly whimpering in the kitchen distracted him. He was sitting next his food bowl, head low looking ashamed? It only took a few seconds to notice the puddle on the floorboards. Normally he always let sumo out at around 7 every morning, it wasn’t the poor dogs fault. Sighing deeply he went to pour some dry kibble into his bowl, most of the pieces scattering across the floor as they ricocheted off the metal. 

Still holding the bag he knelt down to pick up the other pieces but by the change of angle the kibble in bag began pouring out further onto the floor. Frustration and anxiety was bubbling to the surface, dropping the bag and clenching his fists in and out. He wanted to kick the bag across the floor but managed to stop himself from doing so just in time. Only been awake for less than fifteen minutes and he was already feeling overstimulated and anxious.

Deciding to try something else he went on to on the clean the floor, there was a cabinet of cleaning supplies under the sink. Too tired to analyse and read the label he just picked up the first bottle up and ran a cloth under the faucet. Once clearing up the mess he gave the floor a spray from the bottle and rubbed it in. At least something was working. He felt slightly dizzy and woozy, perhaps a cold shower would snap him out of it all. Standing up he went to turn back into the hallway. Yet it seemed by not checking the label he’d made a mistake, what he thought was usual cleaning spray was actually floor polish. As soon as he took a first step his foot went skidding forwards making him lose balance, falling backwards and hitting his elbow off the floor with a bang. 

Pain shot up his arm, all of the complicated nerve sensors going crazy. He’d tried so hard to get back to normal this morning and carry on with everything he usually did. He thought that after last night he’d wake up fine but he still felt just as vulnerable as he did last night. He just wanted things to go back normal, but he’d never even experienced what “normal” really was. Deep down subconsciously he knew he just wasn’t in the right headspace to do things today. He didn’t want to clean and get ready. He wanted to colour and go back to bed with his pacifier. Maybe have a nap and not worry about everything for a short while.

Hurting his elbow wasn’t even that painful, but it was the last straw. Large tears prickled the corner of his eyes before cascading down, hiccuping before letting out a howl. He didn’t know why he was crying specifically, but it felt so relieving to just get it all out. So much stress had been going on in his life recently and every wave of sobs helped him process it all and let it out. It was a cold chilly morning too, wrapping his arms around himself as he let himself cry. He suddenly wanted Hank, his dad always made everything better. 

Hank immediately sat up at the sound of a bang, his cop reflexes springing him into action. After shaking off his sleepy daze he very quickly realised it was no gun and mostly likely something had just fallen, lying back down he noticed only a black stiff nosed poodle plush next to him, Connor must have woke-

A familiar sound of mournful tears suddenly escaped from the kitchen. 

What was it with this kid and always waking him up in tears? Jumping up from bed he made his way to the kitchen. Passing by Connors bedroom which was now in an even bigger state than before. And a navy blue pacifier was on the hallway floor, he picked it up assuming he’d probably dropped it. Connor was sitting on the kitchen floor, knuckling his eyes while coughing out sobs. Sumo was busy eating what he assumed was his breakfast but more of it was on the floor rather than his bowl, and a wet dishcloth piled next to an especially shiny patch on the floorboards. 

Connor was priority number one of course, kneeling down in front and letting the kid crawl into his arms. “So what’s happened here kiddo?”  
Connor just kept crying in response for a few seconds, his voice catching on tears as he tried really hard to speak. Hank ran his hand up and down his back, rubbing soft circles into his shoulders. 

“I- tried rea-lly hARd to do everyth-iNg. But nothin wAS WOr-king how I wanted iT!”

Sighing in sympathy and fatigue, Hank combed his fingers through his hair, lifting him up and walking them over onto the couch. “Aw Con-“

“Thou-ght that iD be ok no-w. But I still feel scAred and still so... so?!”

Gently he interrupted his ramble.  
“Small?”

Looking up Connors lip trembled, nodding lightly as he buried his head back into Hanks shirt. Poor kid had his limit and pushed himself too far yet again. Stupid android thought that it would just be fine as soon as he got up, being human doesn’t work like that sadly though. “That’s okay. Remember we have today off remember? Just let me handle things today, it’s okay to ask me to help when you feel too small to do things.” 

“Don’t.. wanna be bur-den.”  
Lovingly Hank pressed a light kiss to the top of his head. “You’ll never be a burden to me son”

Connor only dissolved back into soft tears, sobbing into Hanks shirt. They weren’t sad or scared tears, he really did need this. Just get all the pent up emotion out. “Let it out kid. You’ll feel better I promise” 

Hank held him on the couch for round ten minutes until he finally stopped, it dying down to sniffles and the occasional whimper. Connor slowly looked up at Hank, with his puffy tear stained face. His left cheek has retracted his skin, the shiny white showing through. He’d done it so he could feel and hear his heartbeat clearer. Such a comforting thing that calmed him down immensely.  
“I’m sorry...”

“Don’t be kid. You feeling better now?”

 

Connor only nodded lightly in response, brown eyes fluttering. He’d completely ruined Hanks T-shirt, a large wet patch from tears on the left side. Gently Hank had to shift him off his lap, “I’ll be back in a few minutes okay, gotta clean up” In response he got a soft whine accompanied with frowny puppy eyes. Unable to hold back the smile from the sight, Hank reached down the side of the couch and opened an old wicker basket. Inside was an oversized navy throw blanket he kept there from when he used to pass out on the couch drunk. 

 

He wrapped the dark blanket over Connor, making sure to tuck him in. Then he remembered what he picked up earlier, placing the pacifier next to his hand. “There, you’re all colour coordinated now heh”  
The blankets texture was ridiculously soft and cosy, the feeling of it against his cheek incredibly comforting. Finally being able to smile for the first time that morning. “Now I need you to pick out a movie Con, once I’m done I’ll come watch it with you I promise”  
Nodding firmly Connor accepted his task and let Hank leave to clean up.

NEW OBJECTIVE: pick a movie to watch with dad

 

The tablet was sitting on the arm of the couch conveniently, Connor knew there was a large array of movies go watch on the streaming service Hank used to watch his unfunny sitcoms. With his eyes still slightly stinging and blurry from the tears he lazily scrolled through his options. 

A few minutes later with Connors room cleaned and the floor swept up Hank planted himself down next to Connor, cup of coffee in hand. “So kiddo what’re we watchin?”

He didn’t feel like talking right now, too much effort. So instead Connor just pushed the tablet towards Hank so he could see for himself.  
“Disney huh? Not watched one of these in years.”

As Hank started up the movie Connor had positioned his head onto Hanks lap, whilst spreading out on the couch. The soft orchestral music began to a snowy Christmas scene, he’d chosen Lady and the Tramp, the dogs on the front intrigued him of course. It was a very simple plot which was easy for his head to catch onto, the visuals soft and comforting as well. Hank couldn’t help but chuckle and smile at the nostalgia from time to time, he forgot how nice it felt to watch a dumb film together with somebody.

 

By the time the movie had finished Connor was failing to remain fully conscious, the morning had been eventful and took a toll on him. Hank noticed this of course. “I think it’s time somebody had a nap don’t you think?”  
He couldn’t even be bothered denying it, just mumbling and curling into Hanks chest. Hoisting him up including the blanket Connor was carried towards into his own room, grumbling at being moved too suddenly. 

With the bundled up android in his arms he lay him down in the now fresh bedding. With the covers tucked up to his chin Connor was seconds away from stasis, eyes fluttering slightly as Hank made his way out to switch out the light. “I’ll come get you up in an hour or two, just relax for today kiddo” and with that he shut the door and left. Connor felt... content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh again I’m so sorry for a long wait. I really burned myself out and ended up just ending this on a neutral (possibly boring) way. I hope that people will still enjoy it though, I’m really sleepy so it’s probably infested with typos too haha. Feel free to leave a comment on what you think or maybe a request?


End file.
